Stet Sports Blog

ESPN Rise Will Probably Be the Network's Downfall

So ESPN is going to introduce a new interactive website, TV time, and publications to cater to high school sports?   

Who's Now? The Greatest Highlight, Titletown, all that stuff was and still is pretty laughable. We knew that it was all part of a feeble attempt to make sports more relevant to fans than just scores and features. But there are only so many sharks to leap over, and considering this is the same network that just hung O.J. Mayo out to dry, making high schooler exploits apart of your 6:00 p.m. SportsCenter just reeks of the bad side.

ESPN touts it as a move to bolster its 12-17 audience and were it a marketing decision to cross-promote Wall-E, I could understand. But trying to engage more teenagers comes off as a bit desperate for the World Wide Leader, and I guess you can't control the world without those all-important teenagers. Nice to see all those Truth commercials didn't go to waste.

Would it be nice to see the future cash cows of the NCAA in action today? Absolutely. But the price may prove to be more steep than can be afforded, as SportsCenter makes a living off of being the fool of sports' grand morality play. You can't lament the big business of college sports and the woe of early entry draft busts and then promote underdeveloped talent and overhyped potential.

But we've come to expect these kind of stunts from ESPN, haven't we? If they weren't rolling out some ill-fated concept every week, then gosh, we'd just be left with....sports.

You Know Baltimore Orioles Baseball is Back When...

...a bleacher brawl breaks out against a helpless Boston Red Sox fan.

Seriously, do Boston Red Sox fans fight everywhere? Do they really take the whole "Red Sox Nation" thing that seriously? Why would you fight Orioles fans? I'd don't care if they were pelting you with crab cakes and Natty Bohs, Orioles fans have no claim to any angst against anyone.

Still, good for the O's fans. A drunken brawl truly captures the essence of a city where two games over .500 and a game up on the Yankees has all the feeling of a late-season pennant race. Wild Bill would be proud. Or ashamed that you opted for fighting instead of dancing.

Tony Kornheiser and the Washington Post Make Like a Banana

And split.

It's sad, really. Tony Kornheiser in so many ways made Washington sports. Nobody captured the malaise of the fan base, the essence of under achievement, and the irony of it all like he did. Mix in his seamless transition to television banter with his awkwardness on Monday Night Football, and add in a dash of love/hate for blogs, and you've got the epitome of sports media celebrity.

Even though he's been out the door for a couple of years now, it's always sad when you finally hear it shut behind you.

Sportswriting Buzz Words

One of the things that separates blogging from mainstream media is the MSM's allegiance to buzz words. You know, those terms that once they are said a couple of times on a broadcast, and printed in the newspaper a couple times, they begin to shape the national discussion on big sports stories.

Every sport has them, most of them are just trumped up sentiments that one hack writer mentioned and other wannabe hack writers spit back. But bloggers don't play that. We're much too unrefined to choose nice words to classify universally-accepted themes in our sports. So here's a brief listing of some buzz words and how you might see them translated in the dunn language of the blogosphere .

Hard Fouls - Particularly in the series the LeBron James is in, going oops upside somebody's head under the basket has made a glorious comeback to NBA playoff basketball. Translation - No blood you say? Talk to me about fouls when O.J. Simpson is trying on some new gloves.

Collusion - This is the big buzz word on Barry Bonds and his not being picked up for a Major League roster. Translation- Yeah, I'm thinking that whole gout thing with David Wells was blown out of proportion, too.

Above the Law - Marvin Harrison might be the most surprising name linked with NFL players behaving badly, but this has been a solid buzz word for the last 10-15 years. Translation- What's that zany Martin Lawrence up to now?

Privileged Athletes - Usually reserved for collegiate athletes caught up in money scandal, it made a surprise cameo in the Duke Lacrosse scandal a couple years back. Translation - Dog, I wouldn't have made the bet if I knew he could make a chest pass from the opposite freakin' baseline. Did you see that sh*t on youtube? Yeah, n*gga. I was there.

Hockey's On? - Hockey fever is slowly starting to creep back into the national sports conscience. Translation - Hockey's On?

Of Course O.J. Mayo Got Paid. Who Doesn't?

If the movie "Blue Chips" wasn't enough to convince you, then perhaps the snitching that is about to do in O.J. Mayo will. How many star athletes out of USC have to get caught up in money scandals? Better yet, how long are we going to pretend that college sports is just too big of a business not to pay these kids?

For the same reasons that the University of Maryland-College Park won't ever be national contenders in any major sport is the same reason that countless other programs will. They know how to get that dough to these players, their families and their entourage. In today's world where students are as fully aware of the college sports money machine as they are about new messages on their Facebook inbox, it's crazy to think that these athletes don't or shouldn't get paid. The hypocrisy of the NCAA is to ensure that athletes have the same opportunities in school as non-athletes do, even though they are among the chief fundraisers, brand builders and admissions officers any university can ask for.

But their reward should be a college education? Just a college education? They should go hungry like other college students when their games sells enough concession hot dogs to combat hunger in the Congo for two years?

Come on.

Name one business enterprise in this country where the primary stakeholders of the organization are rewarded with the opportunity to advance to a better job. Imagine IBM telling its CEO, "yeah, we can't pay you six figures, but your resume' is going to be off the chain when you are ready to leave, homey." That's what colleges are supposed to be asking these athletes to sign up for. The chance to go to class, and to get a great job if they don't make the professional ranks. Oh, and thanks for the millions in jersey and ticket sales, increased applications, and heightened levels of alumni gifts to the athletic department.

Most of your schools know how to do this with tact and care. I can guess on a number of high-caliber programs that do their thing far enough under the table that the self-righteous media's high horse can't get low enough to uncover the story. But the problem is that there shouldn't be a story. There shouldn't be restrictions on compensating athletes who sacrifice body and privacy for a university's bottom line. Is the pay-off big? Absolutely. But who reading this can honestly say that anyone, athlete or non-athlete, should work for alma mater when there are millions of dollars being made every year.

And the crap about non-athletes don't get a cut of the pie? Those students aren't even in the kitchen. If I ever brought money, acclaim and television contracts to Morgan State University as a newspaper editor, you best believe I would've been in Alumni meetings like Mookie on "Do The Right Thing,"

I gots to get paid.

Enough is enough. If no one else will do it, I'm starting the movement to end the self-righteous stance choking the life out of college sports. There's a reason that college baseball isn't a collegiate cash cow, and its because the MLB and the players know the score on how to get money. Pretty soon, basketball and football players are going to wise up, and if the minor-leagues that are the BCS and NCAA basketball aren't going to pay their players for the barnstorming circuits, then the arena leagues and overseas basketball clubs will.

Washington Wizards Get Awkward in the Club

In the first minute of this video of Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson at Ibiza nightclub in Northeast DC, behold a DJ that doesn't know DeShawn's last name, Caron taking the lead on the "I Can't Feel My Face" movement, and plenty of big bottles. After that, it's mostly just dancing, swearing, and the good life.

 

What About Moving the Sonics To Baltimore?

It's beyond a stretch, I know. The Sonics owner is from Oklahoma City, and nobody thinks about Baltimore without the words 'Omar' and 'Ray Lewis' far behind it. But its not unprecedented for Charm City to be on the league's radar to host an NBA franchise, and it wouldn't be a bad idea for the city to welcome the NBA's latest "no arena, no team" casualty.

Think about it. The Bullets/Washington Wizards got their start in Baltimore and were a great draw. The San Antonio Spurs were contemplating a move to the city earlier this decade, and combined with Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium, a professional basketball franchise can put Baltimore in New York and Philadelphia territory as a sports destination.

Besides, basketball would invigorate a fan base that has little more than the Ravens to look forward to every season. The Orioles are treading water, which is more than we can say for a franchise that hasn't been relevant since Hillary Clinton was ducking sniper fire. The Ravens are rebuilding, but will likely have 3-4 years before seriously contending for a Super Bowl, and the Baltimore Blast indoor soccer team can't hold our attention forever.

All I'm saying is that Baltimore would be a perfect place to sell out 14,000 seats for basketball games. If Maryland natives Kevin Durant and Jeff Green can't pack the house, then no one can. It's a great sports town that is ready for basketball, and it can't be any worse than the New York Knicks.

Or any franchise that the NBA hopes to build in Europe in the next few years.

Watching the Washington Wizards

Gilbert has come out of blogging retirement, Ernie Grunfeld agrees with him, and all looks to be fine in Neverland. That's the gist of the last 48 hours with the Washington Wizards. The best review of the Wizards season, and future, can be found at TruthAboutIt.net, where parts one and two of the four part series are currently available for your reading pleasure.

Does Gary Williams Want to Leave College Park?

I don't assume for one second that Gary Williams wants to leave his post as head coach of the University of Maryland men's basketball team. Six years removed from achieving the pinnacle of his profession, Williams finds himself out the outskirts of relevancy in the ACC, and a recruiting outcast in his own state.

And who can blame him? 2009 will mark Williams' 20th year at the helm of the College Park program. I'm sure he's gotten tired of the weighty expectations as much as the athletic executives are tired of his egotistic approach to his job. It's no secret in the area that Gary Williams thrives off of taking marginal talent and creating a resilient, productive team. But as college basketball has evolved from an athletic destination to breeding ground for professional basketball players, Williams has been left in the dust.

He, along with Terp faithful, are probably sick and tired of watching the Michael Beasleys, Donte Greens, Ty Lawsons, Kevin Durants,  Rudy Gays, Delonte Wests, Jeff Greens, Roy Hibberts, Carmelo Anthonys, Michael Sweetneys, James Whites, DerMarr Johnsons, Joe Fortes and Keith Bogans of the world grow up in the glow of Cole Field House or the Comcast Center and not be drawn to its bright promise of team mediocrity. Its hard enough to convince kids to stay in the place where they've been all of their lives when there's such a big world beyond the metro area. But at some point, Williams needs to start talking to boosters, who need to start talking to AAU coaches, who need to start talking to parents and family members, who need to start telling kids that Maryland isn't such a bad place; especially when Eastern Motors is promising a Navigator and $30k a year for their loyalty.

Not bad when your jumpshot is your credit.

Maybe Gary wants to do it the right way, but in pursuing players the right way, the right players are going in the wrong direction to play basketball; away from the College Park campus. Let's not pretend, college basketball is big money, and the change game that the players and their families try to come up on is small potatoes. It would be a shame if Gary is purposefully keeping the Terps' program in Flo's Diner territory while everyone else is aspiring for Ruth's Chris status.

And you would think that when the women's basketball team surpasses you as the biggest basketball draw in town, you better get back on the fund raising and recruitment trail. That's not an indictment of the tremendous job the ladies have done, but it's more of a testament to what the gentlemen of College Park basketball aren't doing. The days of monster recruiting classes and all-American players belong to the Lady Terps, and Gary doesn't seem to mind watching the sun set on his flickering program.

He's cocky about graduation rates, and he's cocky about the fairly middlin' basketball talent he brings in, but it's all just pomp and circumstance. Williams is smart enough to know that he'd be fired if he didn't pose like he worked his butt off 13 months out of year, but you don't have to be a Terps insider to know that Gary is slipping quietly away into the night. He's an institution, and its sad that College Park doesn't have the heart to put him out of his misery, and he's too arrogant to let it all go.

A Practical Assessment of Sports Blogging - Bibliography

Brown, Fred, (2005). Americans are tuning out traditional news. The Quill, 93(9), pg. 34.

 

Fulton, Katherine, (2000). News isn't always journalism. Columbia Journalism Review, 39(2), pg. 30.

 

Giles, Bob, (2000). Journalism in the era of the Web. Nieman Reports, 54(4), pg. 3

 

Gillmor, Dan, (2003). Here comes ‘we media.' Columbia Journalism Review, 41(5), pg. 20.

 

Gillmoor, Dan, (2003) Moving towards participatory journalism. Nieman Reports, 54(4), pg. 79.

 

Johnson, Thomas, Kaye, Barbara, (2002). Webelievability: A path model examining how convenience and reliance predict online credibility. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 79(3), pg. 619.

 

Kirtley, Jane, (2003). Bloggers and their first amendment protection. Nieman Reports, 54(4), pg. 95.

 

Kovach, Bill, (2005). A new journalism for democracy in a new age. Nieman Reports, 59(3), pg. 50

 

Ludtke, Melissa, (2003) The Washington Post reaches out to young readers. Nieman Reports, 57(4), pg. 17.

 

Rainie, Lee, (2000). Why the internet is (mostly) good for news. Nieman Reports, 54(4), pg. 17

 

Small, Jay, (2000) Economics 101 of internet news. Nieman Reports; 54(4), pg. 41

 

Sullivan, Andrew, (2002) The blogging revolution. WIRED Magazine, 10(5)

 

Trombly, Maria, (2000). The new journalist: A Jack (or Jane)-of-all-trades. The Quill, 88(2), pg. 14.

 

Waldman, Simon, (2005). Arriving at the digital news age. Nieman Reports, 59 (1), pg. 78.

 

Yang, Hyeseung, Oliver, Mary Beth (2004) Exploring the effects of online advertising on reader’s perceptions of online news. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 81(4), pg. 733