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.