finally!

Every week I have constantly been complaining about the news stories that come up every week when I turn on my television and tune into ESPN.  But for the first time in quite a while, I have turned on my TV and saw things that finally made me happy, I saw sports in their most real form.  This week in sports there are many big happenings.  The week started off with perhaps the most exciting NCAA Championship Basketball game that has ever been played.  It was a competition between Memphis and Kansas that was fueled solely on heart and who wanted it more.  It was so nice to see players who were competing just to claim a title, they weren’t playing for a bonus, they weren’t playing for an endorsement, but they were playing for themselves and their families.  For some of the players, this was the last time they would ever step foot on a basketball court, and that is a factor that motivates players to superhuman levels without the use of performance enhancers.  As the week went on, The Master’s began, the biggest event in golf.  The clear favorite in any golf match is Tiger Woods, and who can beat him, this tournament is no different.  Tiger woods has revolutionized the golf world and created a frenzy of people who want to catch a glimpse of this amazing athlete.  Tiger epitomizes the ideal athlete; he is a clean-cut, “do-gooder” that is a perfect role model for the children of America.  Tiger acknowledges this fact and is responsible in all of his actions because he wants to set an example, something that more of America’s pop cultural icons need to be conscious of and work on.  To finish up the week, the top news story is this weekends series between the New York Yankees the Boston Red Sox.  This is a rivalry that dates back nearly a century, back to the days when professional baseball was merely a side job, back to the days when the players were heroes on the field, but simple men who worked for a living as well.  This rivalry is timeless and represents all that baseball was in the past, and what it has become today.  The names on the backs of the jerseys have changed, but the names on the front have remained the same.  It is rivalries like these, and the hype that they create that remind us what professional sports are all about, the thrill of the game.  Memphis and Kansas reminded us of that thrill during the championship game, and the excitement that follows ever swing of tiger Wood’s club reminds us of that thrill, the raw exhilaration that drives a fan to become a fanatic.  It is nice to see that excitement return to the news, and finally overshadow the scandal and inappropriate behavior that has crowded the airwaves for so long now.

Prison break…

Today, E! News Online reports that actor Lane Garrison, from the hit television show “Prison Break”, may be released early from his 40 month prison sentence for vehicular manslaughter. The E! News reports states, “Garrison, who upon sentencing apologized profusely for the Dec. 2, 2006, car crash that resulted in the death of 17-year-old Beverly Hills High School student Vahagn Setian, is said to be in better spirits since being installed at the medium-security Golden State Correctional Facility near Bakersfield, Calif., after at least three transfers”. This reports says that Garrison has been moved several times because he was uncomfortable at the prisions that he was being detained at. Upon reading this report I cannot help but wonder how comfortable the 17 year old that Garrison killed is, or the two 15 year olds that were also injured in the accident. It seems that every day there is some new twenty something celebrity who has been caught driving under the influence, are there no taxi cabs in Hollywood?. These young celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan, and Britney Spears,and now Lane Garrison, just to name a few are making astronomical salaries for their age, they surround themselves with entourages and eat and drink at the most expensive restaurants, but yet they don’t have the common sense to hire a driver. When I read that Garrison was going to be released early I was quite upset by it because it is just another example of how the young, rich and famous get preferential treatment in todays society. This young man, who has already been moved twice to make him more comfortable is no exception. Lets take a look at that previous sentence, he was moved from prison because he was uncomfortable. IT IS PRISON, it is not supposed to feel like club med. This actor is on a show that is about people breaking out of prison because it is UNCOMFORTABLE, now he is placed in a prison where he can play basketball outside. Three meals a day, a shared room, and time each day to go play basketball sounds more like living in a dorm than prison. Let’s look at the facts, Garrison killed someone, he stole the life another human being, and now we are looking to make him comfortable, and let him go because of his good behavior, that is appalling. 40 months for taking anothers life does not sound like a harsh enough punishment, especially when the time is served in a cushy prison like the one Garrison is currently in. When is someone going to step up and make an example of these celebrities and make it clear to them that if they choose to be stupid and drive around intoxicated, they will no longer be above the law.

Still America’s Pastime…

Many of my previous posts surround one central topic, the steroids era in baseball.  For months now, the only news about baseball was not about the skill of upcoming rookies, the off-season trades of the leagues biggest players, but rather the question of whom, if anybody took steroids, and how they should be punished.  It would seem that Major League Baseball has been faced with the most monumental public relations crisis that they have ever faced when you listen to the mainstream media coverage, and the experts on the topic.  However for the first time this year, the fans have gotten to speak.  Today, bloomberg.com reports that even after this whole debacle, baseball has been virtually unaffected financially.  What does this tell us about how in touch today’s media is with the American public?   Today’s media has become so involved in following and covering scandals that it has overshadowed the coverage of the stories that people care about.  While steroids is national news, when it comes to sports people are more concerned about their individual teams, and that is whom they stand behind.  As a sports fan myself I know that when scandal breaks, I m not concerned about what the punishment will be or finding a guilty party, but rather I am more concerned with how these things will effect my team.  Baseball is a sport that like many other sports draws a crowd because the American public likes to go and see people do super human things, people with talents and skills far beyond their own.  Sports fans are concerned with what happens between the lines.  The mainstream media in America needs to realize that when reporting on sports, they need to focus on what is happening between the lines.   Scandals behind the scenes are not what have drawn people to stadiums all over the country for so many decades; it is the thrill of the game.  

Crisis Communication

            December 13, 2007 is a day that will forever live in infamy in professional Baseball.  It marks the beginning of a scandal that placed professional baseball, and some of its biggest players in a spotlight that they never would have wanted to be in.  On that day, Former Senator George J. Mitchell released his report on past steroid use in Baseball.  In this report he named numerous All-Star caliber players such as Barry Bonds, David Justice, Andy Pettitte, and most notably Roger Clemens.  Mitchell was hired by Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to investigate steroid use after various book were released claiming that the use of performance enhancing drug’s were widespread throughout the league.  After this report was released, one player in particular became the focal point of the controversy, Roger Clemens.  Clemens was the most well known player to be named by Mitchell, and the controversy only became more heated when Clemens quickly publicly denounced the report stating that he never took steroids.  

            Almost immediately after the report was released, the mainstream media began attacking and scrutinizing Roger Clemens.  The New York Daily News, a paper that so often glorifies the accomplishments of New York Athletes, quickly helped to tarnish the Hall of Fame reputation of Roger with a back page headline stating that the Mitchell Report crumbled his reputation.  Soon after the new broke of the Mitchell Report, Roger appeared on an hour long special on “60 Minutes” where he repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, which seemed to be met with disbelief my the reporter.  This battle of who is right and who is wrong soon hit every news channel when Roger was asked to appear before a Grand Jury and tell his side of the story.  Rogers face appeared on every news channel where he vehemently proclaimed his innocence and much like the “60 Minutes” report, those who interviewed him seemed to not believe anything he had to say.  The media seemed to always be quoting Brian McNamee, his former trainer, who is making the accusations.  Mr. McNamee, a known illegal drug dealer was being taken as the individual who would be telling the truth as opposed to Roger Clemens who off the field is an avid philanthropist.  

            As the debates on who to believe are constantly being replayed over and over again by the mass media, there seems to be a much more fair chance being given to Roger by the public.  Loggers all over the Internet seem to quote Roger and take his words with some bit of credit.  Bloggers seem to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe in our legal system, and stand behind the belief that someone is innocent until proven guilty.  Bloggers also seem to be past the idea of blaming people for doing it and beating the dead horse on figuring out when they did and why they did.  Bloggers tend to believe that the real problem is not whether Roger took steroids or not, but how this Mitchell Report is in any way helping to combat the current problem.

            Reading a blog on the Internet, people can get a much different perspective on Roger and how he is being affected by this controversy.  Mass media tends to leave out the steps that Roger took in the past years to distance himself from McNamee because of the things he found out about him, they leave out how most of Rogers accomplishments took place during periods that he was not accused of being on steroids.  

            Roger has been very open with the public, he has done everything possible to make his view out in the open, and he immediately released a statement to the American public as soon as he was accused of these allegations.  He has made it very clear how this has affected him and the reputation that he has created.  He has publicly said how he will never recover from the way that this looks.  He is now a broken man, once a national hero.   Roger has made every attempt from a public relations standpoint to express his views to his fans, but the mass media writes them off and accuses him of being a liar and further defaming him.  Roger should however feel some comfort form the fact that so many bloggers who represent the public at large are giving him a chance, and have not written him off just yet.  

on the fence..

Today it is impossible to flip through the channels and not be constantly bombarded with various campaign commercials pushing television watchers to vote for their candidate, showing why they are deserving, and how the other candidate has the wrong intentions, and how no matter what they say, their agenda is a lie.  How am I supposed to trust anyone these days, there is dirt on everybody, nobody is what they portray themselves to be, in fact if I believed everything that I saw on television I would be led to believe that not only is every candidate the wrong choice, but if elected, our country might not survive the next 4 years.  Now when I hear these grossly over exaggerated statements I can only ask myself how can one person have that much of an impact.  This trend of only blaming one individual is true even today, so many people place blame for our country’s economy, the price of oil, the struggle that our soldiers face in Iraq, dwindling social security, the price of health care, all of these problems are so easily linked to President Bush by the media and today’s presidential candidates.  Well for individual are next in line to be the leaders of this great nation, maybe they should reevaluate those statements, the fact of the matter is that since the conception of this great nation, the framers of the constitution put in place systems to prevent any one individual from having the power to accomplish such devastation that they claim President Bush has caused.  The system of checks and balances that has been in place as long as this nation has existed has the sole responsibility for making sure decisions get made in a democratic fashion.  So for these candidates who are United States Senators, we must also put the blame on them.  It has become normal practice in Washington D.C. to point fingers, well I believe that if someone is going to run this country they must be able to accept responsibility and tell Americans that no longer will they play the blame game, but will work with every American to strengthen the nation instead of passing along blame and using a scapegoat.  We shouldn’t elect someone who campaigns only on what they think is wrong in the past, but rather we should elect someone who shows us promise for the future.  

the first of many…

So as I sat down to begin my first blog, I sat at my desk, signed up for my “blog” account, and began to write my first of what will probably be many informative, exciting, enthusiastic, and at times probably pointless rants about various topics in entertainment and pop culture that I feel others may sympathize with, or at least be entertained by.  So as soon as I began to write, I realized that I have no idea what a blog is, or how I should go about writing one.  Damn.  Writer’s Block already.  So in order to attempt to remedy this unfortunate problem that I ran into, I decided that there was really only one course of action to take, I began to surf the internet and find out what others “blog” about.  As I began looking at my favorite sites on the internet, I came to a realization.  It was evident to me that so many of the things I read on my favorite sites are nothing more than popular blogs .  These tireless rants about the days mishaps and news stories that I find so enjoyable and use as an escape from my daily routine are just the pouring out of the author’s feelings for that day.  So I decided that my inaugural address to my new global audience would be styled after one of my favorite columnists whose daily writings brighten my day by intermingling daily sports news with humor, as well as a little bit of pop culture.  This man is Bill Simmons, page 2 columnist for espn.com, because his style is refreshing, entertaining, and so here goes, my first attempt at a blog…wish me luck…  Professional sports base themselves on letters, MLB, NBA, NHL, FIFA, and NFL,  and for so long these letters have described men and women who are at the best in their given field, heros to some, idolized by others, but historically  respected for their talent, until recently.   Today professional athletes get described by different initials, ones like HGH, and DNA.  Growing  up sports were everything to me, if I wasn’t participating, I was watching.  I watched people on TV with super human talents, I admired these men who did the impossible, I dreamed that one day I would be the guy who was on the Wheaties box, or on the ESPN highlight reel, but as we continue to find out more about the personal lives of professional athletes, I’ve come to realize that these men and women are rarely admirable.   Lets start this first blog talking about Roger Clemens, my all-time sports hero, now possibly the biggest fraud in major league baseball history.  Did he do it, or did he not, that is the question, he denies it all the way, but now there is physical proof, where does it end? The lists continue to get longer about who has taken them, or who has been accused, who tested positive, who didn’t, it has all begun to blur into one big mess.  Who do I idolize now? I was impressed that Clemens could be playing at his age, and considered him a hero for that fact, but was it natural, will I ever know? Do I have to continue questioning weather or not my hero is a good choice? I need answers but when do the come out, probably never.  But now there is a second part to the controversy, is it enough to say that even if he was taking steroids or human growth hormone so were the batters that he was throwing against so perhaps the playing field was level and he still can be considered amazing.  What happened to the heroes of old in baseball, guys like Babe Ruth who fueled their performance on nothing more then a few beers and a pack of cigatettes.  Now when we look back on that, can we say that Babe Ruth wasn’t natural because of the alcohol or tobacco he consumed?  The fact remains that professional athletes are flawed, and we may never know the extent to which these individuals are cheating, but as for me, I have come to terms with the fact that performance enhancers are everywhere, and since leagues do so little to control them, I must take each record breaking performance with a grain of salt and realize that sports will never be the same, but that is just the way the world is.  Our computers are faster today then they were yesterday, our cars drive further on a single tank of gas.  Professional atheltes have simply become another consumer good, they run faster and work harder, and we spectators pay big bucks in order to watch the medically enhanced show.  So despite my displeasure with so many of my childhood idols for their illegal activities, I must admit that I would rather see Roger Clemens standing on a mound firing 97 mile an hour fast balls, than fielding questions from a grand jury.