The Continuance of Doldrums: Summer's Almost Over!

I must apologize for the huge delay in posts.  The last few weeks, I have been a staff member at several high school marching band camps.  In my free time, I also enjoy working extensively in the music world.  My interest in music had to take priority over my interest in sports for a few weeks.  

But!  I'm back, with a few tidbits of news I've found interesting.  

• Jeff Hogan, the Columbus Blue Jackets' pre-game co-host since October of 1999, has decided to leave his position in order to take on an expanded role at WBNS-10TV.  Hogan had been the longest-tenured broadcaster since the club's debut.  

• Terrell Owens signed with the Cincinnati Bengals on July 27.  He will join receivers Chad Ochocinco, Antonio Bryant, and a slew of other big names players as the Bengals prepare to take on the Dallas Cowboys tonight in the the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.  I'll be DVR-ing this one, since I have to work late tonight.  But I'm interested to see how much chemistry has been developed between Carson Palmer, Ochocinco, and Owens in the little time they've been together.  

• Albert Haynesworth finally passed a conditioning test.  Seriously man?  You received a $21 million roster bonus, demanded a trade, and then FAILED a conditioning test?  You're the most selfish player I've ever seen.  

• ESPN tells us that LeBron James finally thanked the city of Cleveland for everything its done for him.  While I don't think that's newsworthy, I guess the self-proclaimed "Worldwide Leader in Sports" has to find something to talk about to fulfill its obligation to talk about LeBron James at least once a day.  I bet that was a part of that deal to air "The Decision" on ESPN...but I digress. 

That's all I've got for now, I'll blog again following the Hall of Fame game to give my thoughts on the Bengals. 

Summer Doldrums

Yeah, summer has inhibited my ability to update.  Not because of how busy I've been, or how many cool places I've seen, but because there's not really been enough to talk about.  

• The MLB All-Star Game was last night.  The National League won for the first time in 13 seasons.  That is definitely noteworthy.  However, it was eclipsed in importance by the death of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.  George was a great businessman, and saved the Yankees from dropping off the face of the baseball world in the 70's.  He will be missed.

• The World Cup has finally come to an end.  Spain defeated the Netherlands 1-0 in extra time to capture their first championship.  Hopefully this will ease some of the civil tensions within Spain.  Spain needed some good news, and this was it.  Congratulations.

• As I mentioned previously in this blog, Thierry Henry has finally signed with New York Red Bull of Major League Soccer.  He is by far the biggest signing in recent history.  Recent meaning dating back to 2007 when David Beckham signed. 

• Vanderbilt head football coach Bobby Johnson is resigning from his position.  In 2008, he led the Commodores to a 5-0 record to start the season, and a No. 13 ranking in the national polls.  The Commodores then lost 5 of their last 6, but still managed to defeat Boston College in the Gaylord Music City Bowl for their first bowl victory in 53 years.  

Now, for some PERSONAL opinions:

• LeBron James made a decision that best suited his personal career.  Too bad he won't be able to set foot in Cleveland ever again.  He'll be 80, and still unable to find solace in his hometown.  Wonder if he thought of that before he jumped ship?

• Bob Bradley made huge tactical errors in the United States' final Cup match against Ghana.  He should be held accountable for these mistakes.  Should he be replaced by popular pick Jurgen Klinnsman?  I daresay, he should.  You can't make those mistakes in what should have been the most successful World Cup appearance in the history of American soccer.  The United States, not Uruguay, should have been in the semifinal against the Netherlands.  

• The Cincinnati Reds didn't try hard enough to land lefty ace Cliff Lee before the All-Star break.  Now, he'll lead the Texas Rangers to the playoffs, and not the Reds.  If the Reds don't make the playoffs this year, it will be because of their pitching.  

• The Columbus Blue Jackets will not sell-out a home game (with the exception of opening night) until after the New Year.  There are too many question marks for a team with so much to prove this coming year.  Forget 2008-09, 2010-11 will be the most important year in club history.  It will make or break the Columbus fan base.  Another losing season, and most will give up.  Win a playoff series, and the Jackets will be embraced more than ever.

PLDS: Post-Loss-Depression-Syndrome

So, since the U.S. lost in their Round of 16 game last weekend, I became quite depressed when it came to sports.  It's only now, a week later, that I've been able to get up the gumption to actually write on this blog. 

What have I learned?  

Well, I've discovered this new medical condition called PLDS (Post-Loss-Depression-Syndrom).  It's that gut-wrenching feeling that settles in after a colossal sports loss by one of your favorite teams, and it doesn't go away for a while.  For me, after last weekend's loss to Ghana, it took about 5 or 6 days to fully recover and stop thinking about it.  

When Ohio lost to Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament in March, it took a good two weeks to finally realize that they weren't good enough to beat Tennessee, following their upset of Georgetown.  

In another fine example, it took me only a few days to fully recover from the Bengals' loss to the Jets in the 2o10 NFL Playoffs.  Perhaps that was because I knew the Winter Olympics were on their way, and I needed to save my energy for when it came time to recover from the sudden death loss by Team USA in the gold medal hockey game against Canada.  That one took a good two weeks. 

This is a curious condition, because now that I've finally realized that it occurs often enough to diagnose on a regular basis, I've noticed that it occurs to people I know as well, and their friends, and THEIR friends, and so on.

I was reminded of a story this past week that my old roommate told me when the Bengals lost that weekend in January.  

He told me that his grandfather, a huge Cleveland Browns fan, would be unapproachable if his beloved Browns lost on Sunday during football season.  You wouldn't be able to talk to him until the next weekend, at least.  

Poor Cleveland.  I feel like you guys and gals have had PLDS more often than any other city of sports fans in the history of modern competition.  

And with the pending departure of LeBron James to a bigger city, Cleveland may be in store for another couple weeks of PLDS to go along with that sting of losing to the Boston Celtics not even two months ago.  Let's just leave it at that.   We won't delve into the disturbed psyche of a Cleveland sports fan.  

So folks, here's the remedy for PLDS, as I found to be sufficient:  Sleep a lot, drink a lot (what beverage you actually drink is up to you), listen to depressing music for a couple of days, and have a good cry if necessary.  

Before you know it, you'll be back on your feet and in good spirits! 

The World's Reaction

Check out this video of all the reactions to Landon Donovan's game-winner from yesterday.  Truly makes you appreciate the power of sports to bring people together.  

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbn3rOPmR9w

The American Fairytale Continues

 Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Say what you want about soccer. say you don't like it, say you don't think it'll ever be relevant.   But you can't say people aren't watching now.

My Facebook just blew up with status updates like "GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAL" and "LANDON DONOVAN AMERICAN HERO!" among a plethora of U.S. Soccer related exertions of euphoria following Landon Donovan's 90th minute game-winner to send the Americans to the knockout round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  

Twitter is "over capacity," and has been now for about half an hour.  I can't even log on to see what the millions of American fans are saying.  This World Cup has crippled Twitter, and quite honestly, I'm OK with that.  

What's the best part of this World Cup?  My friends, who aren't normally soccer fans, are going crazy over what just happened in the game against Algeria.  They've become believers, and it's time for everyone to believe in this team.  

They may not be the most talented, but they have the most courage, the most heart.  That makes them the best team the US has taken to the World Cup, in my humble opinion.  These guys are playing together, and thank goodness they're not taking a page out of the "French Notebook of Soccer Ingenuity."  There is no friction between team and coach, and there is total support from the fans of our nation.

If you're not on the bandwagon yet, it's time to hop on.  Feel free, no one will judge you for even being just a little late to the party.  I myself joined the Columbus Crew bandwagon full-time this season, despite only being a "mediocre" fan for most of their existence.

That's what makes soccer beautiful.  The fans come from every creed, every race, all genders, all nationalities, but are united under one banner:  The love of the game.  The "world's game" is quickly making a statement in the States.  The fans don't judge you for trying to jump on late in the game.  They embrace you, and make you feel a part of something much greater than yourself.  That's why it's the most beautiful game in the world.

Be sure to watch the American's play again on Saturday morning at 10AM on ESPN or ABC.  You won't regret it!

Beginning of Summer Catch-All

I must apologize for the lack of posts lately, but as you know, being a college student requires one to give up any free time at the end of the quarter in order to pass exams, finish ten-page papers, and spend all night on projects that eventually lead to a degree.  Yeah, pretty crappy. 

However, now that summer is here, I've been watching ESPN non-stop, and I've found so many things to talk about.  So consider this a catch-all of my thoughts on the sports world the past week or so.

1.  College Conference Expansion:  My last post focused primarily on the wave of conference expansion that was planned, and to an extent, that has occurred the last 5 days.  However, I was incorrect in assuming that the Big 12 would collapse amidst the raid brought on by the Pac-10.  Nebraska did indeed leave for the Big Ten, and Colorado left for the Pac-10, but Texas stood tall and remained in the Big 12, saving the conference from almost certain collapse.

The reason?  Money.  Texas thinks they can make just as much money in the Big 12 as they could in the Pac-10, so they're going to organize a television network and see what they can do with it.  Good luck, don't drown in all of those Benjamins.

Keep an eye on Utah though, as they may join the Pac-10 in the next few days.

2.  The World Cup:  This is the month I have been waiting for all year, the time when everything gets put on the back burner, in my opinion, and I can sit around and watch soccer for a month straight, with no interruptions.  As I finish writing this, Switzerland just defeated the Spanish, marking this match as the biggest upset thus far in the competition. 

England/USA was a huge disappointment, in my opinion.  I was expecting a little more action, a little more liveliness from the Americans, but all I witnessed was a stagnant offense that was saved by a boorish mistake by the English keeper (right).  Hopefully a pre-meditated guarantee of victory made yesterday by Slovenia will strike a fire under the Americans and push them to an expected victory over the European side.

My favorite match, however, has been New Zealand/Slovakia.  Yesterday, Slovakia entered EXTRA TIME in the SECOND HALF with a one goal lead.  Four minutes were added, and during the third minute, Shane Smeltz of New Zealand sent a beautiful cross into the penalty area, where Winston Reid finished the header and tied the match with less than a minute left.  The celebration was euphoric (right), and I couldn't help but jump on my feet and cheer when the ball rolled into the net off the right post.  It was a captivating moment.
  

P.S. Hey FIFA, don't ban the vuvuzelas, they're awesome, and the French are being babies about the whole ordeal.  If anything, you should worry more about playboy Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal flopping around like a fish every time he's touched by an opposing defender.  I feel embarrassed for him.  Grow up, man.
  

3.  The NBA Finals:  Despite this year having an epic showdown between Los Angeles and Boston, I find myself...not caring at all.  My interest in other topics of interest has proven to me that, unless it involves Cleveland, I don't care about the NBA.  Tom Izzo (right) said "no" to the Cav's last night, and honestly, I would've said no too if I couldn't have any of knowing whether LeBron James was coming back to Cleveland or not.

4.  The Crew:  They came into the World Cup break losing two of their last three, and tying the other game.  Not the way a team would like to enter a two week break, but perhaps they got the losing out of their system early in the year.  Their disappointed result against Los Angeles, and the terrible play against Colorado left much to be desired, but I fully expect them to return to form when they engage D.C. United on June 26.  The return of defenders Danny O'Rourke and Frankie Hejduk should help shore up the defense.

  

5.  The Cincinnati Reds:  Wow, how about the Reds being tied for first as we slowly approach the All-Star break next month?  Now, the Reds are notorious for tanking, and tanking bad, following the All-Star break, but this year may be different.  The offense is producing, and the pitching has stayed stable, despite some boneheaded decisions by manager Dusty Baker.  He alone has probably cost the Reds six or seven games.  Imagine if they had won those games.  The Central wouldn't even be close.

6.  The Columbus Blue Jackets:  I reported a few posts ago that Guy Boucher was reportedly named the new head coach of the Blue Jackets.  That report was incorrect.  Boucher became the coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, while Manitoba Moose coach Scott Arniel was hired as the new bench boss of the CBJ (right).  Long-time Jackets assistants Gord Murphy and Gary Agnew were fired yesterday, clearing the way for Arniel to bring in his own staff.  I approve of these decisions.  More on the Jackets as we move closer to the draft in the coming weeks.  


Finally, I'll leave you with my favorite Wooden-ism.  John Wooden, the greatest basketball coach in the history of the game, passed away on June 4th.

"Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful."

Major Shifts in the College Sports Landscape

 Here's four little snippets to begin my post today:

1.  The Big 12 announced today that Nebraska and Missouri have until Friday afternoon to state whether or not they intend to stay in the Big 12, or move to the Big 10. 


2.  The PAC-10 chancellors and presidents have given PAC-10 commissioner Larry Scott "all the authority he needs to expand the PAC-10."

3.  The maelstrom of speculation on whether or not Texas will join the Big 10 hit a high point. 
4.  The SEC has flexed its muscles and said that "will not allow ourselves in any way, shape or form to be anything less than we are now."


What does this mean?


Money is king.  It's all about the Benjamins. 


Pretty soon, we're going to have a 16-team super league out west (The Sunny 16), a colossus conference in the midwest (The Big and Beefy 14), and a southern faction of heavyweights (The Even-Bigger-Yet-Ridiculously-Speedy 14) that will dominate the college sports landscape. 


This will leave the Big East, ACC, Conference USA, Mountain West scrambling to keep up as the other four major conferences that make up the "BCS" schools. 


In the wake of those other four filling vacancies and adding their own firepower, mid-major conferences such as the Mid-American, Western Athletic, and Sun Belt will be left in the dust, and an even bigger separation will occur between the BCS and the Best-of-the-Rest. 


This isn't the first time that expansion has happened, but its the first time I can think of that such a large-scale, money-driven poaching has occurred.  This undoubtedly will add firepower to the argument that the BCS has a monopoly over college sports.


How will smaller conference schools, such as Ohio, ever be able to catch up at this point?  Will they ever be able to challenge for a national championship in the next 10 years?  20?  100? 


The answer, unfortunately, is no. 


Granted, there may be an opportunity for Ohio to move up to, say, the Big East, but will the Big East be relevant in 5 years?  How about Conference USA?


This whole situation spells doom for small conferences, since the rich will only become richer. 


I don't know what's going to happen, but I know that it can't be good.  Not good, at all. 

Jackets Offer Boucher Head Coaching Position

News leaked yesterday that the Columbus Blue Jackets have offered Guy Boucher their open head coaching position, despite no official word from general manager Scott Howson or the Montreal Canadiens, Boucher's parent club.  

Boucher, currently the head coach of the American Hockey League's Hamilton Bulldogs, is one of the hottest coaching commodities in all of hockey.  He lead the Bulldogs to a 52-17-3-8 record, best in the AHL Western Conference.  Hamilton made it to the Western Conference Finals, where they fell in seven games to the Texas Stars.

This offseason has been accepted by all Jackets fans and analysts alike as the most important in franchise history. 

When former coach Ken Hitchcock was fired in February, only ten months removed from taking the team to the playoffs for the first time, it sent a message that mediocrity was no longer acceptable in Columbus.

Howson's decision to offer to Boucher is not surprising to anyone who has followed the Jackets' coaching search the last couple of months.  What is relatively unfortunate, however, is that this news was leaked before a coach actually signed a contract.  

Blue Jackets beat writer TOm Reed mentioned in his latest blog post, and I agree, that Boucher's decision will make or break the franchise.  The embarrassment of Boucher turning down the job could cripple the credibility of the franchise for years.  While there are plenty of capable alternatives, like Scott Arniel of the Manitoba Moose, Kevin Dineen of the Portland Pirates, and associate head coach Claude Noel, Howson's decision to go with Boucher signifies a leap of faith.

Boucher is unproven at the NHL level, and his 1-3-1 forecheck and powerplay system would be highly experimental at the NHL level as well.  There's worry it may not even work.

But, a pick like Boucher would send a message to the fans that the youth movement in Columbus will carry the franchise for the next five to ten years.  Boucher, at 38, would be the youngest coach in the NHL, and he would carry a lot of weight with the younger guys in the locker room like Nikita Filatov and Derick Brassard.

Boucher is expected to let the team know of his decision by next week, so this weekend will be, with all certainty, the end of the Doug McClain era in Columbus, because the new coach, whoever it may be, will most likely clean house, and with that, all of the remains of the decisions of the man that hindered the Jackets' ability to be successful.  

Finding Your Field of Dreams

ESPN reported two weeks ago that the legendary Iowa farm that was used in the movie “Field of Dreams” is for sale. 

Now, YOU can own a piece of sports movie history for the low, low price of…$5.4 million. 

The majority of the inquiries have stated that the field would remain intact.  Then again, I’d hate to be “that guy” that decides to buy the farm and tear down the baseball field. 

“What’s your point?” is the question you are probably asking yourself right now, regarding my post. 

I guess I’m just glad that people realize the need to keep the field.  It may just be a movie set, but it is an iconic part of what makes sports so great, and so necessary. 

The field was built in the movie because Kevin Costner’s character, Ray Kinsella, heard a voice that told him “If you build it, he will come.”  This line itself is one of the most recognizable movie lines, ever.  But it goes deeper than building a baseball field.

Kinsella builds his field, despite ridicule and contempt from everyone but his wife.  After seeing historical baseball figures come out from the cornfield and play on his field, he finally gets to play catch with his father in the end, making it quite clear why the divine messenger sent that iconic message.  This is a really, really brief explanation of the movie, I recommend watching it from beginning to end to truly understand the message of the movie.   

This baseball field represents the ultimate sign of faith.  Kinsella placed everything he had on this one bet, and despite the hardships he faced, he was rewarded in the end.  Not so much economically, but emotionally, and spiritually. 

Sports are our release from all of these hardships.  Even in times of economic despair, sports teams are still selling out arenas and bringing cities together, one game, one play at a time. 

Look at the 2001 New York Yankees’ run to the World Series.  Following 9/11, New Yorkers were united under two banners:  FDNY/NYPD, and the infamous pinstripes of the “Bronx Bombers.”

In situations like that, sport transcends its recreational value, and makes us all realize there is a light at the end of the tunnel. 

High school football and basketball shut down many of the small towns across the country for hours at a time.  Completely shuts them down.  Everything closed.  When was the last time you can think of something like this happening?

Some of the greatest moments in my life have been sports related.  Watching my high school football team win our first state championship my senior year (and again this past year), being in the crowd for the first ever Blue Jackets home playoff game, watching Ohio beat Georgetown and storming up Court Street afterwards, and hopefully, watching Ohio beat Ohio State for the first time ever in September (Wishful thinking, but it’ll be my birthday)

In sport, there is always someone to root for.  And because of that, its value is intangible.

Ohio Athletics vs. Ohio Faculty

For the last couple of weeks, the Ohio University faculty senate and the Ohio University Athletic Department have traded jabs in the battle over budgeting.  

The faculty senate is under the impression that downgrading athletics is necessary because the athletic department continues to operate over-budget year after year.  

Yes.  This is true.  The athletic department IS operating over their allotted budget.  But, does that make it OK to downgrade athletics?

Absolutely not.  

Athletics, just two months ago, brought the university FREE national publicity in the form of a FRONT PAGE picture on USA Today, highlighting the epic win the men's basketball team had over the Georgetown Bulldogs.  Not to mention, a large portion of the country saw the game because it was on NATIONAL television (More free publicity)

The football team did much of the same thing, going to the 2009 Little Caesers Bowl, and playing on national television for the SECOND time in a month (The 'Cats also played in the MAC Championship game, which was shown on ESPN earlier in December)

And how about we ask the students what they want?  Ask each individual that stormed onto Court Street on March 18 what they think about athletics.  Ask those kids that skipped classes to drive to Cleveland and watch the MAC basketball tournament.  And ask the kids that drove 12 hours to Providence why they did so.  

The faculty should definitely be concerned with the budget, and they have every right to try to help the university be as successful as possible.  But, this is one fight they shouldn't try to continue, because athletics is important to so many people.

How many alumni would stop giving money if there were no longer a Division 1 basketball team in Athens?  How much revenue would Ohio lose if they couldn't sell football tickets anymore?

Too many questions that I don't want to know the answers to. 

Honestly, I don't think athletics should be too worried with Dr. McDavis declaring that athletics would be safe not too long ago, but the stubbornness of the faculty senate and their inability to see the glaringly obvious positives makes me wonder what their agenda really is. 

Alright.  End rant.  

World-Class Striker Thierry Henry Contemplating MLS Run

A couple of days ago, Barcelona striker Thierry Henry agreed to a deal with American side New York Red Bulls following the World Cup in South Africa.  

Henry, who has led the English Premier league in goals scored four times in his career, is currently under contract with Barcelona of La Liga in Spain, so there is no certainty as to when the Frenchman would make his debut under the lights of New York City.  

What does this mean for Major League Soccer? 

Honestly, it's bigger than David Beckham signing with the Los Angeles Galaxy in January 2007.

Beckham was the pretty-boy star of the Galaxy during his MLS tenure, but in my opinion, he was outshadowed on the field of play by teammate Landon Donovan, arguably the best American player of our generation.  

Beckham brought the celebrity spotlight to the league, but he forgot to bring with him the crosses that made him the world's best footballer for several years.  He also feuded with Donovan, and eventually lost the support of his own fans in Los Angeles.  

Henry is still a good enough player to come in and dominate MLS if he so chooses.  At 32, he may not be as fast as he was five years ago with Arsenal, but he is still nimble on his feet and can find the net.  He has scored 49 goals in 116 appearances with Barcelona.  

Henry would step into a situation where he could be the immediate leader of his team.  Only Juan Pablo Angél is close in name recognition on a squad that has sorely underachieved thus far during the 2010 campaign.  He would provide the goal scoring necessary to push New York towards a playoff run.  

While many fan's of American soccer still have a bitter taste in their mouths following the departure of Beckham to AC Milan, the signing of Henry would re-energize a club desperately in need of some help, and continue to make MLS more relevant to soccer fans across the world.  

However, I must caution, it is imperative that Henry find success in MLS, whether it be leading the league in goals or winning a championship.  He needs to prove to the rest of the world that this isn't a publicity stunt, and that he intends on improving American soccer.  

If he can do that, Henry may very well be one of the most influential players the league has ever seen.   

Ohio State to Help Manage Nationwide Arena

According to The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio State and the Columbus Blue Jackets have agreed to a pact that will allow Ohio State to help manage Nationwide Arena in efforts to lower expenses for the financially troubled hockey franchise.

The one-year deal will keep bidding wars for concerts and other promotions from driving up expenses for both Nationwide Arena and Ohio State's Value City Arena.

In the past, the two arenas competed for the same concerts and in many instances, paid upwards of $200,000 just for hosting rights.

The deal will allow the Blue Jackets to save around $1 million dollars a year on operating expenses, but the club will still have cuts to make in order to operate in the black for the first time in franchise history.

In my opinion, this deal couldn't come at a better time for the Blue Jackets.  

Because Nationwide Insurance owns 90 percent of Nationwide Arena (The arena was privately funded after Columbus citizens voted down a tax increase to pay for the arena), they have charged the club around $5 million a year for rent and the use of a management company.
 

The Jackets are locked into a lease that causes them to bleed money and prevents the club from making advances towards productivity in Columbus.  

I believe that too many Columbusites take everything this team has provided the city for granted.

Before the Jackets, the current Arena District was nothing more than beaten buildings, ugly, unused properties, and a looming, distraught-looking state penitentiary.  The Jackets have brought life to the downtown that hasn't been seen in my time as a human being.

With the completion of the arena came LifeStyle Communities Pavilion in 2001, a state-of-the-art concert facility where I went to prom my junior and senior years (It was awesome).

In 2009, Huntington Park opened as the new home of the Columbus Clippers, the AAA affiliate to the Cleveland Indians.  The baseball stadium has won awards on many occasions and has added to the glow and beauty that has become the Arena District.

Many citizens vehemently oppose having to pay for the Jackets, and think that the club should move elsewhere if they cannot afford to stay in Columbus.

In all honesty, you folks are wrong.  If the Jackets do leave, you'll finally realize what they have been giving to our city for these past ten years.  They've made our downtown attractive again, and made downtown Columbus a destination, and not an eyesore.  They've made it safe.  They're bringing families to Columbus and its suburbs.

Not to mention, it's turning Columbus into a hockey town.  High school hockey has grown exponentially since the arrival of the Blue Jackets, and there are more kids in Columbus playing hockey than ever before.  

Those are the intangibles.  I challenge you, the citizens of my city, Columbus, to take a look inside and ask "How would our city look, and feel, without the presence of the Blue Jackets?"

SportsNation: The Darling of ESPN?

Although I don't exactly know when the SportsNation section started on ESPN.com, I started visiting it when the television program "SportsNation" made its 3:00PM EST debut on July 6, 2009.

Since then, the "Average Joe" has been able to make his or her opinion heard on ESPN, extensively through the use of Twitter, and polling through the SportsNation page on ESPN.com.  

In my opinion, ESPN has completely blown away other mainstream news sites such as CNN.com and NYTimes.com in terms of interactivity and usability.  Quite simply, ESPN is allowing the users to determine an entire hours worth of programming every week day.  

I like this.  I like this because no longer can the elite sports journalists of today sit on their pedestal and declare themselves the rulers of the collective sports galaxy.  

Colin Cowherd, one of the anchors to the television program, has been known to ruffle some feathers as one of the pretentious sports personalities at ESPN.

While I disagree with the great, outstanding majority of his opinions on many, many topics (LeBron, soccer in the United States, hockey, mid-major sports, just to name a few), his time on SportsNation seems to have made him realize that the sports fans of America speak louder than he does.  

I cannot factually state that his opinion has always been different than the majority of sports fans out there, but I can say I've seen him lambasted on the air by his co-host Michelle Beadle (I would marry her in an instant, just throwing it out there) because of his grossly exaggerated opinions on many topics.  

Now, once you get past that Michelle is a strikingly beautiful woman who definitely knows more about sports than I do, you realize that she represents all of us, and says all of the things that we wish we could say to personalities like Cowherd.  

She stands up for the voice of the "Average Joe," because it deserves to be heard.  

What does this mean for sports personalities, on any medium?  You better be careful and do your homework, and you had better not ruffle the wrong feathers too often, or you are going to be called out on it, and in a very public manner.

Journalism is heading down a new pathway, one that isn't under the shroud of closed culture newsrooms and elitism.  The "Average Joe" isn't so average when he is allowed to 1UP-Mario style and become a part of something bigger and better.

I think the big time media should look towards ESPN as an example of effectively using their audience as a means to create better content. 

"Pacman" Jones signs with Bengals

ESPN reported last night that Adam 'Pacman" Jones has been signed to a two-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.

My beloved Bengals, who have given a plethora of second chances to the bad boys of the league, just opened up a new can of worms by signing probably the worst of them all (Sorry Pacman, but your reputation precedes you, to the greatest extent).

Sure, Tank Johnson, Chris Henry, Cedric Benson, Larry Johnson, and Matt Jones all took the second chance and turned it into a winning attitude around the locker room, but Adam Jones is the most high-profile bad boy in the league. 

If the Bengals hadn't solidified their reputation as a correctional facility for the games biggest liabilities, they most certainly set it in concrete last night.  

I don't know how to feel about this, considering Leon Hall and Jonathon Joseph will start at the cornerback positions and are one of the best tandems in the league.  Adding Jones will only complicate the position battles, and cause unnecessary drama.  

I hope I'm wrong about this one, but signing Pacman makes me a little worried about next season.  Hopefully Pacman's ghosts don't spell out GAME OVER while he wears the orange and black.

Words of Wisdom

This past week, I tried to visit Armon Bassett's Twitter page, only to be greeted by the "This Page No Longer Exists" default page.  

If you care to connect the dots you can probably conclude that this is because of his recent arrest.  But this post isn't about Armon.  Chris Littman, an alumnus of Ohio University, blogged recently about the Bassett situation.  

The curious thing for me is why athletes think they are invincible on the Internet.  Littman's blog hints at the reason why Armon might have pursued the course of action he did on that night.  

I asked my journalism professor, Hans K. Meyer about Twitter and whether or not journalists were permitted to publish Tweets as facts in a published medium (NOTE:  I'm not getting extra credit for including hiim in my post!)

His definitive answer was YES, because it is in the public domain.  

He also raised an interesting point:  Should we protect athletes from themselves when deciding whether or not to publish their Tweets?

The answer to that is NO.  These men and women are presenting themselves to the public when they publish Tweets, Facebook statuses, and blogs.  As journalists, we are trained to always be mindful of the way we present our arguments, stories, editorials, etc., because one fact or quote gone astray spells doom for the trust we have tried to build with our readers. 

If an athlete does not take the same caution to protect their image in the public setting, then why should their readership, including journalists, hold them to a different standard?

This question will be answered differently by many, but just to add one more thought, I will ask this.  If you're an athlete that has thousands of kids looking up to you, because you're the "it" athlete right now, would you want those kids making the same choices you are?

That's a telling question.

Quick Interview with Ohio University Student

I interviewed Ohio University Student Alex Rice on Wednesday, April 28. I thought it was relevant considering the recent arrest of Ohio guard Armon Bassett.

I apologize for the poor quality of the video, the file seems to have exported incorrectly.

Also, I will admit right now that this is not the correct type of "journalistic production" that one might see on television or on a news website, but this interview was conducted solely for material to test out my skills on Final Cut Pro, so please excuse the amateur editing.

In the future, if I have more video content to post, you can expect the highest quality. 

BREAKING NEWS: Armon Bassett Arrested

According to an Athens Police news release, Ohio guard Armon Bassett was arrested for assault last night at Courtside Pizza and Bar on Court Street.  

The police report states the victim, a doorman at the establishment, suffered a broken nose due to the incident.  

There has been no other information released at this time.  

Bassett is preparing to enter the NBA draft, and must decide whether or not to return to Ohio University for his senior season by May 8th.  

The programs leading scorer from 2009-10 averaged 17.1 points per game, and garnered national acclaim for his 32 point performance against Georgetown in the NCAA tournament in March.

Columbus vs. Real Salt Lake, April 24, 2010

I apologize for the tardiness in this post, but this week has been rather busy, writing papers and doing interviews and such.  

This past weekend, I finally experienced a Columbus Crew game from the comforts of the Nordecke (pronounced Nor-deck-uh).  It was an experience to behold. 

Despite torrential downpours throughout the night and leaving more soaked than a wet blanket at a party (I'm talking to YOU, "guy-who-ruined-Highfest-with-your-feeble-attempts-at-starting-a-fire"), the atmosphere was electric and worthy of an entire blog post from yours truly.  

The amount of pride and excitement that the supporters sections show for the Crew is outstanding, and I wish that more people would realize how amazing the world's game actually is.  

It took me a few tries to get all of the songs right, but when I finally nailed them, I sang them loud and proud, and was enveloped with passion for "Guilleeeeeermo" and "Paduuulllaaaa" (Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Gino Padula, respectively).  

The game itself was mediocre at best, only because the Crew played sloppily in the second half and nearly let Real Salt Lake steal a draw long past the 80th minute mark.  But it was the superb keeping of Will Hesmer that kept the Crew from losing this one at home.  Schelotto put the Crew ahead in the first half off a penalty kick, but his play mirrored that of the team during the second half.  Mediocre at best, with the majority of his crosses finding the defender rather than his streaking teammates.  

However, the Crew pulled through, and I have become hooked on the Nordecke.  The Crew play at home May 5th, and I may just make the midweek drive to Columbus to support the city's finest team.  

For more information on the Crew, visit thecrew.com, or mlsnet.com for more information on Major League Soccer.

A New Experience

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned many things about the atmosphere at Crew games, and how "hooliganism" is becoming OK in American soccer.  

Today, I am about to experience this for the first time.  I will return tomorrow with a more detailed look at this experience, and how it affects the fan who cannot participate in this every time.  

It should be a good post, I'll see you all on Sunday afternoon!

BREAKING NEWS: Armon Bassett Declares for NBA Draft

According to John Groce, Ohio guard Armon Bassett will declare for the NBA draft, but has not hired an agent.  

In his press conference, Groce said that since he did not hire an agent, he is eligible to return to Ohio University and play for the Bobcats next year if he withdraws from the draft by May 8.

What does this mean for Bobcat fans?  It means that it's either the NBA or NCAA for Bassett, who is unlikely to take a gig in Europe, considering he decided not to hire an agent.  That's good news for the Attack U nation.  

This gives Armon time to talk to the NBA draft committee to see what his chances of being drafted are, and apply for Ohio University again in the instance he decides to return for his senior season.  

If he returns for his senior year, Ohio would return its top scorer from the Mid-American Conference and NCAA tournaments.  

If he doesn't return, it opens up a second scholarship for John Groce, as Asown Sayles has decided to graduate and leave the university following spring quarter.  

Visit Bobcat Attack, the official fan board for Ohio athletics to discuss today's press conference events.  

Let's Play Clean Boys

Yesterday, Ben Roethlisberger was suspended for the first six games of the 2010 season for violating the NFL Player Conduct policy.  There are currently sexual assault allegations against the PIttsburgh Steelers quarterback, a result of a night of partying in a Georgia town.   

Is this right?  Can a player truly be suspended for close to half of his season on PENDING allegations?

The definitive answer is YES, because sports in today's culture is so micromanaged, and so public, that you have to avoid negative publicity at all costs if you are the league in question.  

Not only are these athletes being scrutinized by the watchful eyes of the media, but also their adoring fans.  3-year-old's who someday wish to be just like Tiger, or just like "Big Ben" are seeing first hand what it means NOT to be a good role model.  

Sports is a business now (despite the feeling I have deep in my heart that they are always pure, and that players play "For the love of the game"), and commissioners are acting accordingly, making sure the negative publicity doesn't take away from the quality of the product.  

A recent article by USA Today reveals that the crime rate by NFL players has significantly dropped since Goodell implemented the policy in April 2007.  

Baseball is suffering the same ordeal, only not with player conduct.  Rather, MLB is still dealing with steroid allegations and positive tests, years after the first instances of steroid use by popular players were made public in 2005.

This "60 Minutes" story, which first aired in 2005, hints at the hypocrisy in MLB, and how much work still needs to be done to clean up the league, even five years later. 

The NBA?  They have suffered as well, but not as much recently.  "The Malace at the Palace," an infamous brawl between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers took the media by storm, which led to the coining of the phrase "The Thug League."  

Kobe Bryant was the center of a sexual affair scandal in 2003, bringing more negative publicity to the league.  

Most recently, Tiger Woods has been the king of "Sports Icons Who Dramatically Fall From Their Pedestal."  His sexual affairs, and his confession to sex addiction rocked the sports world, and even made enormous waves in the global media.

Some question why we should care what these athletes do in their free time.  They ask why we cannot just take what we get on the field, and leave our love for these athletes at that.  

I will pose this question:  Why do sports have such a large influence on us as humans that we spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a year watching them, buying clothes with logos of our favorite teams, and playing them?  

For something as important as sports, we have to hold those who play them at its highest level to a certain degree of morality.  

Play the games fair, teach our kids valuable lessons, and make the world a better place. 

Crazy for the Cavs

Today was an interesting day at work, because I had told myself that despite being ridiculously busy, I would at least have the night off to watch sports and what not (I work at Chipotle, and its the only Chipotle within a 40 mile radius of Athens, so needless to say, its a busy place).

However, as I was sitting there eating breakfast, I had an epiphany of sorts.  I realized, "Hey, the Cavs are on today at 3, so we probably won't be busy the last hour I work...hmmmm."

It was a stretch, but I was going to assume that since an Ohio team was in the playoffs, and are tabbed to win the NBA Championship this year, that everyone was going to watch the Cavs game.  

The first three hours wore on, the line of people waiting to get their burrito stretched out to the sidewalk, and I could hardly think straight anymore.  

Then, the unthinkable happened.  Once the helped the last person in line, there was no one behind them.  I looked at the clock.  

Just like clockwork (Pun DEFINITELY intended), everyone had gone home, to the bar, or to their buddies house to watch the Cavs, because it was 3 o'clock!  

What does this mean?  It means that Ohio sports fans are yearning for greatness so much that they will stop whatever they're doing to watch their teams.  And you know what, there is nothing wrong with that.  It speaks volumes of our ability to commit to the long term.  And that makes us valuable assets, and reliable people.  You can always count on us to support our teams, and never back down.  

I made reference to this attitude in a post about being a fan of a mid-major college, and it has shown itself once again amongst the subjects of the effervescent King James.

King James, it's time to take your people to the promised land. 

Armon Bassett's Twitter

 Ohio guard Armon Bassett has been mum on whether or not he will return for his senior season next year, and while no official statements have been made, it's easy to make educated guesses based on his tweets.  

I hope this post doesn't cause him to delete me from his Twitter followers, but Armon Bassett has been dropping huge hints at what he is going to do next year in terms of his basketball career.  Three tweets that have stuck out to me are the following:

1. Today should be John Groce Appreciation Day. In my heart I kno he couldve had that Clemson job but didn't take it bcuz of Us 2:15 PM Apr 13th via web  
2.  Hello world! Great day to be a bobcat.. 10:33 AM Apr 9th via mobile web
3. Bout to tell coach groce to schedule butler next yr.. At butler too.. I want a piece them 9:44 PM Apr 5th via web 

This first tweet insinuates that Groce was offered the coaching job at Clemson, but he stayed because of the team he is going to have next year.  No official statements have been made by Groce nor the Athletic Department on this issue, so Armon made a statement to those who happen to be following him on his social network. 

The second tweet is a little more generalized, but it stills give us a look at what is going through his head right now.   He loves being a Bobcat, and it sounds like through his other tweets, he loves being in Athens and on campus.  

The last is the biggest red flag of all.  Not because it holds untruths or defames any person or thing, but because it is a total giveaway to what Armon wants.  He straight up tells his followers, "I want a piece of Butler, NEXT YEAR."  

Hint, you can't play Butler if you're not in college. 

So followers, you can always trust your athletes to give you the most personal and up to date information on themselves, without ever having to talk to them.  Twitter is wonderful.  

And if for some reason, Armon starts moderating his content (Say, moderates it so that the journalists can't figure out whats going on), I'll be happy to say I wrote this on my blog first. 

The Music of Sports

Every time you go to a basketball, hockey, football, or baseball game, you are going to hear music that is designed to excite you as a fan.  Music is dramatic, and so is sport, so it is only natural that the two go hand in hand with one another.  

Here are four moments in a sporting event when music selection is key to tapping into the adrenaline of the fans in attendance.  

  

1.  Your college basketball team just went on a 15-0 run in the second half to take a slim two point lead with three minutes left in the game.

 My first exhilarating experience as an Ohio University basketball fan came my freshman year in Athens.  OHIO was playing George Mason in the 2008 Bracketbuster game on ESPN, and OHIO had just stormed back from a slight deficit to take a commanding lead in the second half.  

The Ozone was on the verge of eruption and the Convocation Center was loud as can be.  George Mason was forced to call a timeout, and the place went crazy when this song came on.

An O-H-I-O chant has been added to the end of the verse since then, with a resounding "U!" finishing off the simple, yet highly effective, adrenaline tapping jam.  

2.  It's 3rd down and 2 yards to go, and your favorite football team is on defense.  

If you assumed that I would put a link to "Hell's Bells," that would be too easy!  (Sorry Ohio State fans)

Sure, the majority of football teams in the United States use the bells to jack up their crowd, but Hans Zimmer's "The Kraken" from Pirates of the Caribbean is a solid choice as well (Note:  Skip ahead to 6:12 in the video to hear the theme at its darkest) 

If that's not your cup of tea, then get down with Ozzy Osbourne's "Iron Man."  Or AC/DC's "Thunderstruck."

Honestly, you can't go wrong with any of these.  I'm ready to charge through a brick wall just listening to them.    

3.  Your team is lined up in the tunnel and is preparing to take the field for the biggest game ever.  

 Trust me, if you haven't been in a stadium right before the teams come out, it is absolutely necessary to play the perfect song when the home team is running from the tunnel, or else you lose the intensity that may have been built up by the pregame show. (See Below)

The first one that comes to mind is this Young Jeezy hit from 2008.  Definitely makes you want to jump around a little bit and chest bump the person next to you.  

Or, perhaps you'll do a few fist pumps, a la Ronnie from "Jersey Shore."

Because I do contain slight bias, there is no entrance song better than the Cincinnati Bengals' "Welcome to the Jungle" as performed by Guns 'n Roses.  

In more obscure realms of musical delight, this Powerman 5000 power-synth-grunge anthem just might do the trick.  It's weird.  It's a little wacky.  But the philosophical message of world's colliding coincides perfectly with two teams of guys trying to bash each other into the ground just to run a ball across a line.  

4.  Pregame Introductions

You can't play mention any of the top pregame songs in sports without mentioned the legendary Chicago Bulls introduction music that become wildly popular during the Michael Jordan reign of the 1990's.

If you are in need of a good jam for your pregame introduction video, look no further than Paul Oakenfold's "Zoo York." (The theme starts at 2:02 of the video)

My personal all-time favorite is Fatboy Slim's "Right Here, Right Now."  Forgive my vague use of the word "epic," but that's the perfect word to describe this song.

One final song that many teams use (And OHIO should use too, just saying) is "Remember the Name" by Fort Minor.

Sports and music go hand in hand with one another.  The right choices must be made or else the music doesn't work at all, and your fans will become lazy and bored.  Pick the right music, and they will come. 

MLS Is Awesome!

Reason No. 1 that MLS is Becoming Relevant Again:  Uniforms

Beginning in 2007, MLS allowed its clubs to seek corporate sponsorship and place the company’s logo on jerseys for advertising purposes.  The league has struggled to find an identity with their uniforms, but the new batch issues by Adidas is well on its way to fixing the problems of the past. 

Fanhouse.com writer Brian Straus does a good job analyzing this years crop of kits for those who may have no clue what is supposed to look good and what isn’t.  Actually, his blog post is far superior to this one, so if you find yourself wandering around his page more than here, I will accept it and work harder next time. 

FINALLY putting those sponsorship logos on the kits make MLS teams look like actual soccer clubs.  Not to mention, it’s bringing in some needed dollars.  The key to relevancy has been money for MLS, and sponsorships should help bring more clubs out of the red.  

Reason No. 2:  The David Beckham Experiment

Yes, he’s not here anymore (Technically he is, but we all know his heart isn’t), and yes, he angered the entire country when he feuded with teammate Landon Donovan, but the way in which the league got him to come to the US and play soccer has defined the league.  If the league blossoms and becomes as large as the Big 4 (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL), you can bet top dollar it was because of David Beckham. 

The league’s designated player rule allows clubs to pay a player as much money as they want, and that player only take up $335,000 of cap space.  This has brought European power players Juan Pablo Angel and Freddie Ljundberg to the States, as has opened the door for clubs to pursue other European stars.  

I’ll note, however, that no club with a designated player has won an MLS Cup.  Not to say these players aren’t worth it, but they need to be used the right way, and with the right club.  Not just to look pretty and make the headlines (See David Beckham)

Reason No. 3:  Hooliganism

OK, so its not European style hooliganism, where unfortunately people have died in large scale battles with opposing supporting groups.  BUT, it’s on the rise, and it’s awesome.  Supporters in Columbus and Toronto (archrivals and nemeses to one another) are among the leagues most rowdy and aggressive.  

I haven’t had the luxury of going to a match in quite some time, but season ticket holder for the Columbus Crew recently told me that the “atmosphere is completely different than five years ago, and its awesome.”  He said there are still the same numbers of fans, but those who attend are more involved, more supportive, and generally crazier than ever before.  

If you dig deep enough, you can find a page on Wikipedia that talks about American Soccer hooliganism, and because of the creation of a team in Portland, a rivalry will most likely emerge between Seattle and Portland that will rival the intensity of Columbus-Toronto. 

Don’t flinch, soccer is becoming relevant in the United States.

Life as a Mid-Major, Particularly at Ohio University

Being a student of sport in our 24-hour analysis crazed world, I have come to the realization that being a mid-major fan is not as bad as the big dogs like to make it seem.  

Becoming a fan of Ohio University, when you've spent your entire life in Columbus rooting for Ohio State, is like going from eating $80 steaks at some fancy restaurant to eating fried steak at a Ponderosa in backwoods Ohio.  

At least that's what people in Columbus will have you think.  

I, on the other hand, have discovered a world unlike anything I've ever experienced before.  Nothing will ever match the sheer euphoria I felt when Ohio dominated Georgetown 97-83, and blew up 99.9 percent of America's brackets.  Seeing Devaughn Washington on the front page of newspapers and websites gave us undivided attention from the same people that gave Ohio a "zero percent chance of winning" (Ahem...Andy Katz).

It's not fried steak.  It's more like...a home-grilled, perfectly marinated steak that took you all afternoon to prepare, but it was worth it because the enjoyment you receive from that incomparable taste is far greater than that steak you just spent eighty bucks on.  

Am I biased?  Yeah, a little.  But it's the truth.  And mid-majors are no slouch.  Just ask Wisconsin, Georgetown, and Villanova.  They got beat by mid-majors.  When it matters the most.  And that is the key to all of this.

Sure, Ohio was absolutely dominated by Pittsburgh in December.  It set the team back quite a bit in terms of morale and confidence, but it was just December.  Fast forward to March, when its one-and-done, and you have to play your best game, every game.  What does Ohio do?  They play their best four games, in the four games that mattered most.

Don't think so?  Ask Ball State, who had ten point lead with eight minutes left in round one, but let Ohio back into the game.  Ask Kent State, who entered as a one-seed and walked off the court with their tails between their legs after a 81-64 shellacking.  And ask Miami, whose offense was stunted by a stellar defense led by DJ Cooper and Devaughn Washington.  And finally, ask Akron, who beat Ohio twice this year, but was shut down in overtime by a team with more heart.  

"Don't Flinch."

This new mantra, developed by coach John Groce in the heat of battle, makes perfect sense for all the Cinderellas in the Big Dance.  

If you flinch, you won't get to experience the elation and satisfaction I felt when I stormed up Court Street on March 18.  

What's it like being a mid-major fan?  It's rough.  We don't get much respect from the big boys, and we don't have the money the big boys have.  But, we have just as much heart.  We've been through the thick and thin with our teams, the losing seasons, and we've handled the rampant disrespect from the national media quite admirably.  

We know our stuff too.  We pore over message boards and newspapers, scouring printed word and digital verse for any nugget of information we can find.  We want to be a part of our team.  We spend countless hours researching, arguing, crying, weeping, stomping about the room angrily, and many other heartbreaking and emotionally unstable activities.  

Most of all, we just wait for our moments.  And when they happen, we cherish them like its a Faberge egg in a china shop. 

As a fan of the Ohio Bobcats, I just experienced the best week of my life, because of sports.  When was the last time you could say that about yourself? 

Coach Groce may be gone in two years, off to some job with one of the big boys.  But I'll still be here.  My heart will still be in Athens long after Groce has moved on from here.  I'll be an old man, telling my grandkids about pure shooter Tommy Freeman, and Devaughn Washington, who captured Bobcats' fans hearts with his glorious turnaround the last weeks of the 2009-10 season.  

And I'll tell them about the day that the Ohio Bobcats became relevant again.  I'll tell them about March 18, 2010, when Ohio slayed the giant, and the world took notice.  

That is what it means to be a mid-major fan.  And not only that, that's what it means to be a passionate, steadfast supporter through all the adversities the world could ever throw at you.  Sure, the guys and gals in Columbus feel heartbreak and remorse, but its usually when they lose to Michigan and they can't play in the national championship.  Or they lose more than three games.  But those feelings can be fixed with a bowl game victory, or a prized 5-star recruit.

We mid-major fans feel it when no one is watching, and there is no big game to play for.  We feel it, because for one moment, one singular moment in sports history, we may catch a glimpse of the promised land.  And for those moments, I will suffer a lifetime of misery and heartbreak.  

You just can't flinch along the way.