Interview with James Irwin, author of "Midnight in Chattanooga"

Interview with James Irwin
Mr. Irwin is currently the Assistant Director in the James Madison University Office of Alumni Relations.  He is also the author of Midnight in Chattanooga and former sports editor at the Washington Examiner.

By Brad Burgess and Ryan Hourigan, students in SRM 334: Introduction to Sport Media

Q: What compelled you to write your book, Midnight in Chattanooga?

A: I fell into a great situation when I was here [at JMU]. I applied to be sports editor at The Breeze and, for some reason, they hired me for it. And JMU [football] goes on this run that no one expected them to go on. Remember, the three seasons before 2004 they were 2-9, 5-7, and 6-6. They were getting better, but they didn't get one top 25 vote. They had a quarterback controversy coming into training camp. Mickey [Matthew]'s son Clayton had just been in second car accident. There was a lot of turmoil around here. Mickey was coaching for his job. Nobody really knew what to expect of that team. The went 2-1 out of the gate. They lost the game at West Virginia when they get drubbed, and West Virginia was No. 6 in the country. And then they won six straight. And they won these games in such dramatic fashion. Up until the day they won the national title, nobody really understood what was happening because nobody has ever experienced it here before. So when you roll all these things up and you look at a guy coaching for his job with the family situation that he had with Clayton's accidents, a quarterback controversy, a program that hadn't done anything in better than a decade, and all of a sudden, bang, the flip gets switched and they win a national championship. As a journalist, immediately I thought this can't be as overnight as it appears to be. So my mission in writing this book was to uncover the back story of how it happened. I wanted to show that it just wasn't an overnight success. Success is earned and [the 2004 JMU football team] embodied that.

Q: Why did you decide to come to JMU as an undergraduate student?

A: I'm from New York and went to a college fair at a local community college. I stopped by the JMU table and talked to Joe Manning in Admissions. Joe talked to me for 25 minutes. He got me to come down here in late March of my junior year. Everything looked great. The flowers are freshly planted, it's a 70 degree day, and the Quad is packed with people and they're having a great time. I fell in love with the place. I decided to come here, because it's where I felt at home.

Q: What dorm did you live in freshman year?

A: Gifford Hall.

Q: Who is your favorite athlete of all time?

A: I'm a huge Mariano Rivera fan. I think part of it is because his appreciation for the game. He's always composed. Rivera is so stoic and so calm and so deliberate. His pants are the right length, his hair is cut close to the scalp, and his ball cap is on completely straight as an arrow. He does the same thing every single time, he throws the same pitch every single time, and he's still the greatest closer of all time. He's incredibly passionate about the game, and he's very astute when it comes to the history and he appreciates it. I'm a huge Mariana Rivera fan, both because of the way he carries himself and because of his athletic ability.

Q: What would you say is the easiest sport to cover?

A: I don't want to say this in a way that makes it seems like it's trivial compared to the others. For me, soccer is very easy to cover. I played a little bit when I was a kid so I understand the basics of it. The field is so big, everything unfolds in front of you and the ball is big. You can usually see something developing in soccer a lot further away because of the space, and because you know what great teams do and how they function. If you cover a team for a long time, you know when a team likes to run. The players are very approachable compared to a lot of the other major sports.

Q: What's your most enjoyable sport to cover?

A: I really did enjoy covering football, but I enjoy covering pretty much any sport.

Q: What's your favorite sports team?

A: New York Yankees.

Q: What's your ultimate dream job?

A: I would love to spend my career just cutting 30 for 30 films. They are great.

Q: What's your favorite cereal?

A: Life

Q: E-Hall or D-Hall?

A: E-Hall

Q: Would you write another book?

A: Absolutely.

Q: What would the book be about?

A: The Electric Zoo, JMU men’s basketball from 1977-1990. I'm actually working on it.

Q: New York or Washington D.C.?

A: New York

Q: What's your favorite thing about JMU?

A: I love JMU's mission and the purpose of this university. It's very student-focused. The idea is to be an involved citizen, but at the core of that involved citizen is to get a great education. That's the most important thing a university can do, and I think we do a great job of making sure that's the focus here.

"NFL's Leo Kane: League happy with uniforms partner Nike"

From OregonLive.com

Review by Alex Boecker in KIN 332

For the 2002-2011 football seasons, Reebok had exclusive manufacturing and marketing rights over all of the NFL’s authentic and replica jerseys, sideline apparel, hats, and onfield footwear. That all changed late in 2011 when the NFL signed a 5 year contract with Nike for jersey manufacturing. This also meant that the new jersey designs wouldn’t be unveiled until April 3rd, 2012 which raised some worry. Recently, Nike had redesigned the Oregon Ducks football jerseys and had made them significantly more flamboyant than that of previous designs. Fans were worried that Nike would take the same approach to the new NFL jerseys making them look foolish. That was not the case thought, and many were quite pleased that Nike took a much more conservative route with the jerseys. Leo Kane, the NFL’s senior vice president of consumer products, said that they are “very happy with the partners we chose” and dismissed the idea that the recent Oregon Ducks design may have caused hesitation when choosing their new partner.

Although the Seattle Seahawks were the only team to receive completely redesigned uniforms, many teams are now boasting performance related improvements in the new uniforms such as lighter fabric and new pads where there were none before. Even though only one team has been wearing a new uniform design, it can be expected that many more will come under this new Nike contract, including the Vikings who are revealing their new uniforms on April 25th of this year. However, the league does set up some stipulations to make sure that teams are not constantly changing uniforms. Not only must the team talk to the NFL before talking to the apparel manufacturer, but they must also wait at least 5 years in between uniform changes.

While uniform changes can be very important to the image of a team, it is important not to overdo it. Fans want their teams to be attractive and have good looking apparel, but if you go over the top, such as the Oregon Ducks, it may turn off fans. Also, changing the image of a team too frequently can lower sales if fans cannot afford to keep purchasing the new apparel. That is why it is important for the marketers to stay ahead of the curve and aim for apparel that is going to be popular now as well as several years down the road.

"Newcastle stadium name-change lacks class and is unworthy of history"

From The Guardian 

Review by Steven Golob in KIN 332

The article that I chose to discuss in class is a huge talking point in the sport of soccer worldwide. Soccer is a sport of very rich history and pride in one’s club that a person chooses to support. Items such as stadium names and team colors are a very important part of these clubs that fans are very hesitant to part ways with. This article examines, further, one of the biggest names in the Barclay’s English Premier, Newcastle United. Not only is Newcastle one of the oldest soccer clubs in England, it may well display of the greatest examples of historical significance and fan loyalty as a whole. That being said, this article explains that although the relatively new club owner’s decision to sell the name of the club’s stadium in order to make a bit more money makes sense financially, the supporters of the club have been up in arms about the decision since it was only a rumor. 

Newcastle’s club owner, Mike Ashley, is merely doing what most other top-flight soccer clubs are doing in current times. They certainly aren’t even the first team to do this in the English Premier League, either. The article touches on other big-name clubs, such as Manchester City and Arsenal, in reference to the fact that their fans were not happy about the changing of their beloved stadium’s names at first, either. However, Mike Ashley has been able to run Newcastle quite stably with this stadium name-change producing more revenue for the club. It makes a lot of sense from a marketing standpoint as well. With a brand attached to the name of the stadium, it will be much easier to market the stadium as a whole. Using the old name, St. James’s Park, would be much more difficult even with the fans being able to identify that as their home stadium. Sports as a whole are so focused on making money from a marketing standpoint that they are very ready to toss tradition aside in order to keep teams afloat. It almost seems like a necessary evil that the fans might just have to accept in order to further enjoy sports.

"NCAA tournament 2013: James Madison’s Rayshawn Goins suspended for first half after arrest"

From the Washington Post

Review by Jake Orpin in SRM 334 (section 3)

James Madison had its first taste of basketball success defeating Northeastern in the CAA Championship to secure a visit to the NCAA tournament. The basketball team got their 10 seconds of glory having a 30 second highlight reel of their win over Northeastern on ESPN. James Madison has never been known as a basketball powerhouse so they didn’t get much coverage on the championship win. Then came March 17th when star center Rayshawn Goins got arrested for obstruction of justice and disorderly conduct. The very next day James Madison had media coverage like they won an important game in the NCAA tournament. Before the incident the media coverage JMU got was small then the arrest happened and it blew up to a national story. James Madison had to act on the incident and decided to suspend star center Rayshawn Goins for the first half against LIU-Brooklyn. On March 19th The Washington Post wrote an article on the ordeal, which wasn’t the case after JMU won the CAA tournament. The media coverage brought James Madison into the limelight whether that’s good or bad that’s for you to decide. 

This subject is relevant to this course because its shows what media is really after. The media wasn’t concerned with James Madison making the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1994, they cared about the off the court arrest. In this situation I learned media is more concerned with the repercussions stemming from off the field actions more than they are concerned with the results of the game. A lot of the attention was on James Madison only suspending Goins for a half. James Madison was wrong for only suspending Rayshawn for a half. In my opinion James Madison should have suspended Rayshawn for the entire game. The media coverage we got from the suspension showed that it was a soft penalty. In my opinion since we haven’t made the tournament since 1994, James Madison was hesitant to suspend Rayshawn for the entire game. One thing to come out of this whole ordeal is James Madison getting a lot of media attention over this, whether that’s good or bad press we will have to wait and see.

"The Passion of the Fan"

From Adweek

Review by Sean McGough in KIN 332 

Digital Media is constantly changing in today’s society. More specifically, it is forever changing how fans interact with their favorite athletes, teams, leagues, and sports brands they follow. Fans are no longer turning to newspapers, magazines, or radios for their information. Why look something up when it could be found in a 0.002 second Google search? That is the mentality many sports fans have today and now that sports sponsors are a main source of information, they too must keep up with advancement of digital media. 

Fans want to be entertained with videos of their favorite athletes, play games, and win prizes. This article “The Passion of the Fan” by Stuart Feil digs deep into the sports and sponsorship marketing that is “fan involvement”. As sports marketing agency Catalyst found in its 2012 Fan Engagement Study, digital channels such as: league websites, fan sites, online sports news sources, sports-related Twitter feeds and other Internet and social media outlets are now second only to TV as a primary and trusted source of information for sports fans. With that information, marketers look to find a way to create sports advocates. A hot area for doing that now is with the use of “super fans” and loyalty programs. Organizations are utilizing Facebook pages and social media apps to extend their reach of gaining more fans. By giving fans more insight or “behind the scenes” content, they will be more engaged and connected.

However, once a fan is connected, they must also be continuously entertained. Sponsors and promotional marketers have created plans to do this, as well. Through commercials, documentaries, videos, and contests the fan always has entertainment at his or her fingertips with the click of a button.

"Jay-Z launches sports agency, signs Robinson Cano"

From USA Today and ESPN.com

Review by Gene Daniels in KIN 332

In an recent ESPN segment, analyst and former professional basketball player, Jalen Rose, compared recording artist Shawn Carter aka Jay-Z to Earvin “Magic” Johnson. He did not compare their natural talent, nor did he compare their dominance in their respective professions. Rose compared these two men based on the fact that they have both elevated above stardom to the title of “mogul”. Jay-Z has lived his adult life in the headlines and the starlight and as shown by his recent business maneuvers shows no signs of slowing down. Carter has taken his Roc Nation Entertainment Company to new heights by adding Roc Nation Sports; a sports management agency. Carter is known for his passion for sports and has publicly shown it through the backing of the New York Yankees and more recently the Brooklyn Nets. 

In a truly unforeseen move, Carter has aligned his Roc Nation Sports enterprise with Creative Artists Agency, better known as CAA, which happens to be one of the most powerful sports agencies in the business today. As if news of this powerhouse partnership is not enough to silence the critics, Carter inked his first professional athlete; none other than the New York Yankees All-Star second basemen, Robinson Cano. Cano, who finished in the top 5 of the AL MVP ballot voting last season, made the choice to leave well-known agent Scott Boras in favor of Carter and CAA agent Brodie Van Wagenen. In addition to Cano, CAA has individually inked New York Giants’ wide receiver Victor Cruz, and many think this may lead to a deal with Roc Nation Sports. Jay-Z has a specific passion for basketball and he has noted an interest in eventually representing some of the NBA’s elite. In order to do so, Carter most likely will have to rescind his ownership shares in the Brooklyn Nets.

This move is one that has a very interesting dynamic to it. Jay-Z is a global icon and with him comes a global market and global attention. Robinson Cano noted that he made the move to Roc Nation because he likes all the things Jay-Z can offer him off the field. Mixing professional athletes and hip-hop artists to me seems like a marketers dream and I can imagine that this can grow into a mutually beneficial relationship for both Roc Nation and the athletes they represent. Roc Nation can introduce itself to markets that the athletes might have a niche in and conversely the athletes can be exposed to markets that Roc Nation have a strong foothold in. It truly seems like a win-win scenario and I haven’t even mentioned the athletes’ representation on the field. CAA Sports is an extremely reputable agency and is currently known for getting the long-term deals done in a professional and timely fashion. For Shawn Carter, the proof is in the pudding. Almost everything he invests in with man-hours or financially is a success, and I doubt he would make a half-hearted attempt at something so important. The notoriety of Jay-Z paired with the skill and savvy of CAA Sports can lead to even greener pastures for many professional athletes; green pastures of dollar bills, that is.

"Manti Te'o Gay? NFL Teams Want To Know About Linebacker's Sexuality, Says Mike Florio"

From the Huffington Post

Review by Sylvia Lee in SRM 334 (section 1)

The article, Manti Te'o Gay? NFL Teams Want To Know About Linebacker's Sexuality, Says Mike Florio, discusses how after the Manti Te’o girlfriend hoax, NFL teams are questioning his sexuality. Teams are wondering if this hoax was Te’o’s way of trying to hide the fact that he is gay. Their reason for questioning his sexuality is the concern of whether or not having an openly gay teammate would affect the locker room. During Te’os interview with Katie Couric, he said that he was not gay, but this did not solve the problem. Teams want to directly ask him, but are worried about any backlash this would bring. Due to this, other players are being asked more personal questions than ever before.

My personal view of this is that it should not matter whether a player is gay or not. But as a coach or a general manager, it would be something that would need to be discussed. Although it is not right, having an openly gay teammate could potentially affect the team negatively. In the locker room, other teammates might not be accepting of this and the chemistry of the team would be lost. Outside of the locker room, there are going to be a lot of negativity from fans and other people who are against gay rights, and may protest. Personally, I do not have anything against gays and/or lesbians, but as someone who is directly working with a team, it is something to be considered.

The way some NFL teams are going about the situation I believe is done incorrectly. I think that they should not be allowed to ask these questions. If the questions are not asked, then no one could really know and it will not be as much of an issue; ignorance is bliss. Therefore, other players should not be asked such personal questions, because then it is one less situation that has to be dealt with.

This article is relevant to our course because it is on the media; twitter, television, etc. It also affects the questions being asked to other players, and is a personal subject matter to some NFL fans.
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Review by Ryan Murakami in SRM 334 (section 1)

With the NFL draft coming up in about a month, Manti Te’o’s personal life has been a main topic in the sports world. In this article, the author discusses how Te’o’s draft stock might be on the decline due to his girlfriend hoax. During an interview a couple months ago with Katie Couri, Couric asked if Te’o is gay. Teo’s claimed he was “…far from it, far from it…” This has lead many teams to speculate about Te’o and his sexuality. According to some sources many teams have asked him in private interviews about his sexuality and have tried to dig through his past. Teams are afraid of the possible backlash if the media finds out they have been asking these questions but are really interested in knowing the answer. 

Social media has plays an important role in the entire Manti Te’o situation including the most recent debates about him. Teams are using social media to discover more about draft candidates to learn about their past. With any job, looking through Twitter and Facebook is a possibility for employers. Teams are afraid of how they will be perceived if they are looking for information about a player’s sexuality. Some members of the media think it is inappropriate to question someone’s sexuality, as it has nothing to do with the player’s ability on the field. Other players are also tweeting about how it is inappropriate for teams to ask about player’s sexuality, for example Shawne Merriman tweeted “Can't believe they're asking Manti Te'o abt. his sexuality…” . Other players might be afraid to voice their opinion because of possibly backlash from the media.

In class, social media has been discussed a lot and how quickly news spreads, how anyone can comment on any story and how anyone can voice their opinion via Twitter or Facebook. Once one player or reporters writes a story everyone hears about it and voices their own opinion.

Teams should have the right to look through the past about potential players to get a judge of their character but searching for their sexuality is another story. Searching for that information says nothing about their character or who they are as a person.

"Final Four set as Louisville overcomes Ware injury to beat Duke 85-63"

From FoxNew.com

Review by Jordan Underwood in SRM 334 (section 2)

Six and a half minutes before half time, of one of the biggest games left in March Madness, the game took a break, literally. Louisville’s sophomore guard, Kevin Ware, jumped up to defend a 3-point-shot and snapped his leg clean in 2 places, it was unlike any injury I have ever seen. The reactions of the other players on the field, on the bench, and all the fans were the same, shocked and worried. Within minutes, the video image of the injury from the game was on youtube, twitter, and other social medias across the web. 

Why was this such big news so fast? Understood, that an injury like this is unlike most we see, but why was this worthy of being instant headlines? In the end, Louisville won the game, and in post game interviews, Louisville head coach, Rick Pitino said, “We won this for him.” If Louisville had lost though, would the loss have been blamed on the injury? Chances are that media would have made that assumption and chances are that over the next few days media will say that the injury was the reason Louisville won. “The Cardinals simply refused to lose, breaking open a game that was tied at 42. They dove on the floor for loose balls. They pounded the boards ferociously. They contested every shot and swarmed around the Blue Devils like they had an extra player on the court. In a sense, they did. During every timeout, Pitino reminded the players of their hospitalized teammate” (Fox Sports).

Injuries like this are also huge, motivational stories because they always demonstrate team support. If an athlete gets hurt, you always hear about their teammates supporting their recovery and playing in honor of them, and readers and sports followers love up lifting, feel good stories. “Russ Smith collapsed onto the floor, along with several players, and was crying as doctors attended to Ware. While Ware was loaded onto a stretcher, the Cardinals gathered at midcourt until Pitino called them over, saying the injured player wanted to talk to them before he left. The sophomore, who played his high school ball in suburban Atlanta, urged his teammates to complete the trip to the Georgia Dome. Pitino wiped his eyes as Ware was wheeled out, as did several Louisville players.” (Fox Sports). Though injuries are tragedies for athletes, teams, and fans, they also bring out amazing teamwork and perseverance which makes for great uplifting stories.

"New Orleans Pelicans: Name Change Should Bring Hornets Back to Charlotte"

From Bleacher Report

Review by Quintin Hunter in KIN 332

After reading this article, it makes sense for all of the NBA to make changes. This change will help socially, marketing, and also the entertainment of the game. I think it was a good idea the Hornets name should return to the city/community of Charlotte. First for all of this to happen, owner Tom Benson of the New Orleans Hornets has to change their name which they are doing; they will be called the New Orleans Pelicans by next season. This is going to be an interesting decision for the city of New Orleans. I’m not sure if they have an issue or not with changing their team name. Now it’s up to Charlotte Bobcat’s owner Michael Jordan to make a decision if he wants to bring the Hornets back to Charlotte. Even though, the Bobcats haven’t been doing well on the court, the fans will be happy just to have the name back in its original location. The only problem that the Bobcat franchise would have is that they just obtained new uniforms for this past season. That would mess up the stores around the city of Charlotte that is selling the Bobcats gear. In the article, there is a group/movement called, “Bring Back the Buzz” that attends the games in Charlotte that is trying to convince that franchise to change their name back and on an occasion that chant, “Charlotte Hornets” in the middle of the games. I think if everyone in the city supports this movement then owner Michael Jordan would automatically change the name back to the Charlotte Hornets.

"Teams match fists; no suspensions"

From ESPN

Review by Dre Coble in SRM 334 (section 2)

Our current event presentation will be on the 2013 World Baseball Classic and one major event that happen during the tournament that sent the media into frenzy. If you extreme baseball fan you know what this event is all about. The world baseball classic is something similar to the world cup but baseball style. It’s a baseball tournament with 16 different countries trying to win a championship. The teams are made up of individuals who are either living in that country now or from that country. In America we have the MLB (Major League Baseball) which is our own professional league. A lot of our professionals in the MLB are from different countries such as Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, China etc. With that being said players that play in America play for their native country in this tournament. The tournament is also similar to the Olympics when it comes to that aspect. The games are hosted in different locations around the world.

The world baseball is meant to bring together all these different countries in friendly competition to see who is considered the best in the world. Players take these games seriously because they aren’t only representing themselves they are representing their country. The world baseball classic is broadcasted on national TV in America but doesn’t receive a lot of media attention. This is a question that needs to be asked and answered. It seems like the tournament isn’t a big thing to America and a lot of Americans who aren’t baseball fanatics don’t even bother to watch it. This is where the tournament isn’t like the world cup or like the Olympics. Both of those events are highly talked about in media either on TV or social networks, constant stories are being released about them. The tournament wasn’t receiving barley any attention until the countries of Canada and Mexico played each other. In the ninth inning Mexico pitcher hit a Canadian batter and all hell broke loose as the batter charged the mound and the benches cleared starting an all-out brawl between the two teams. After the teams were separated no one was suspended for the fight but the media went crazy. The video of the fight was all over the news, ESPN, and internet. It took a fight to bring some attention to the tournament and the question is why did it take all that just for the tournament to receive all this coverage? In America do we love seeing violence especially when it comes to sports? 

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Review by Reuben Alarico in SRM 334 (section 2)

Andre and I decided to do our current events presentation on the recent fight between Team Canada and Team Mexico during the opening rounds of the World Baseball Classic. The fight was caused because Canada decided to bunt in the top of the 9th inning while leading 9-3. This sparked Mexican 3rd baseman Luis Cruz to tell his pitcher, Arnold Leon, to hit the next batter. The first pitch was very inside but nothing was said of it. The next pitch would have hit the batter’s thigh had he not moved. This led to both teams getting warned by the umpire. The next and last pitch was the “finishing blow”. A fastball clocked at 93 mph hit Canadian Rene Tosoni in the back. After being hit, he started walking towards the mound which led to benches being cleared and a couple of fights breaking out. After everything settled, no one ended up getting suspended.

Viewing the fight from an analytical standpoint, I believe Luis Cruz felt like Canada should not have been bunting due to the run differential and also because of an “unwritten” which considers that to be disrespectful. But at the same time, what does hitting a batter prove to anyone? I think they should have stayed professional and tried to have been the “bigger men”. I’m sure sports bloggers and sports analysts would have talked about the lack of sportsmanship displayed by Team Canada had Mexico kept their composure. Lastly I wanted to include how this event is relevant to our class. It relates to our class because it involves sports media because this fight was a trending topic on twitter and it also involves event management because the World Baseball Classic is a tournament that takes place on an international stage and occurs only every four years.

"Tiger Woods is back as the No. 1 golfer in the world, but has more work to do to restore image and win back sponsors"

From the New York Daily News

Review by Dan Wright in SRM 334 (section 3)

On March 25th Nike posted and shared an advertisement on Facebook and Twitter of Tiger Woods with the text “Winning takes care of everything.” This was posted after Tiger reclaimed the #1 golfer in the world ranking on March 24th. There has been a lot of criticism towards Nike with this ad due to the scandal of Tiger cheating on his former wife. It is also sort of ironic that he is back at the #1 spot after recently revealing that he is dating skier Lindsey Vonn.

I think the ad is just Nike being Nike. This is not the first controversial ad or athlete that they have chosen to endorse. Nike usually shows a flare or arrogance with everything that they do. Cockiness is always in their repertoire it is what sets them above and apart from their rivals Under Armour, Adidas, and Reebok. Nike thrives off of this type of advertisement and the athletes that Nike markets to do the same. The main uproar from this ad is more of the family type and liberal minded people. I’ve seen the majority of complaints from mothers and non-athlete males (who aren’t in Nikes target audience). Most athletes that see this ad just laugh and shrug it off.

This was only portrayed over social media. The ad couldn’t have cost more than cost of labor to make and went viral relatively fast. It is the new era of marketing and in the future I feel like these ads that push the envelope will become more and more dominant in the media world. I feel as if the world of huge costly marketing campaigns will soon find a rival in the small viral pictures and ads posted over social media outlets. 

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Review by Dale Robins-Bailey in SRM 334 (section 3)

In the past couple of days Nike released an ad with a picture of Tiger Woods lining up a putt, including his slogan “Winning Takes Care of Everything.” The picture was released on Facebook and Twitter in light of Tigers recent return to form and with it the coveted title of number one golfer in the world.

There has been an outstanding response already to the ad with over 8000 likes and 2000 shares on Facebook alone creating a huge social twitter storm. Although many have been quick to congratulate Tiger on his return to the pinnacle of golf, many have been dissatisfied with Nike’s ad claiming it to be controversial and bordering on unethical.

After his sordid love affairs that lead to the end of his 5 year marriage with Elin Nordegren, Woods hit an all-time low which lead to loss of millions in sponsorship deals along with a slip down the rankings. It is because of this many are labeling the ad highly inappropriate because it suggests that his past mistakes are all forgotten in comparison to his golfing accolades.

Whether Nike’s ambiguity is a totally ballsy move or stupidly ignorant it remains to be seen, but they are sticking to the story that the meaning behind their publication is strictly in regards to Woods’athletic performance.

The sheer volume of the social media response has forced Nike into explaining itself.

"Tiger has always said he competes to win," Nike spokesman Beth Gast said in a statement. "When asked about his goals such as getting back to No. 1, he has said consistently winning is the way to get there. The statement references that sentiment and is a salute to his athletic performance."

Despite the bad press an poll by ESPN business reporter Darren Rovell 84% said the ad was ‘No Big Deal’ with only 16% calling it ‘Offensive’. ESPN’s very own Stephen A. Smith publicly supported the Ad live on First Take saying “I absolutely loved it!” Many people seem to think just the sheer number of people talking about it through the various media avenues, will only help bolster Tigers image and Nike’s revenue streams.

Nike has always supported Woods unlike two of their last high profile ambassadors; Lance Armstrong and Oscar Pistorius whose ties have been severed after recent controversies. They have now realized it is time to move forward now Woods is on the up.

"Can Heat set record for NBA’s longest winning streak?"

From SI.com and Hoops Habit

Review by Matt Flint in SRM 334 (section 2)

Chris and I decided for our current event to be the Miami Heat winning streak creeping up on the previous Lakers winning streak. We decided to focus mainly on how the coverage of the streak is slightly taking away from other presenting topics that are relevant right now like the NCAA tournament and March Madness. We decided to outline both the statistics of the 71’-72’ Lakers and the 12’-13’ Heat to show what kind of skill both teams had and now possess to have a streak like the record is. We also decided to show a critique video of the Heat’s streak and which teams they are going to have to face to continue the streak, I strongly believe they will beat the Laker’s previous record. For the slideshow I wanted to make sure we weren’t just reading off a slide but just have bullets and elaborate on the point we are trying to make. I believe the topic we chose correlates to the class because we are so focused on good media, can too much media be bad? We introduced a few discussion questions that the class can answer with their opinions. Obviously the attention the Heat is getting has increased their fan base greatly and will continue to as the streak continues. What we are trying to achieve by presenting this topic is for the class to understand that when one topic achieves a great amount of hype it leaves the other topics out to dry in a sense that something that could have been a great headliner is now just a sub-topic. 

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Review by Chris Moffett in SRM 334 (section 2)
The Miami Heat are currently sitting on a 26 game winning streak, the 2nd highest in NBA history and just 8 games shy of breaking the record of 33 straight wins set by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. Miami, already one of the most popular team in the league is generating even more press by the day due to their streak. Because of this, one may wonder whether the streak is good or bad for the NBA. 

In an article by Frankie Hobbs of HoopsHabit.com, he describes that the streak is good for the NBA because March is typically a down month in the popularity of the league. One reason for this is because of March Madness, and the average basketball fan is more likely to watch the NCAA Tournament than the NBA regular season. Miami’s streak has given fans something to watch for in the NBA. Hobbs also says that the fact that at this point in the season many teams are already out of playoff contention and are now just “going through the motions”, making watching their games rather boring.

In some aspects, I agree with Hobbs that the streak is good for the League. The problem I have with the win streak is the incredible amount of media coverage the Heat get, on top of already being one of the most talked about teams in the NBA. I think that sports media has a habit of taking a story and completely running it into the ground, such as Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, and the struggles of the LA Lakers earlier this season. I think that the Heat getting this much coverage is resulting in a lack of coverage for other teams, specifically the Denver Nuggets, who are on a win streak of their own of 15 games, a franchise record. The media needs to better diversify the material they cover.

"Significance and Ramifications of Conference Realignment in College Athletics"

From Sports Networker

Review by Eric Southard in KIN 332

One of the most talked about topics going on in collegiate athletics today is conference realignment. Conference realignment has been going on for over twenty years, but not until recently has it been such a controversial topic. The past five years or so, collegiate athletics has been filled with universities and colleges exiting and entering conferences. The idea of conference realignment has a big impact on the Sports Marketing Industry in many ways. In the article, “Significance and Ramifications of Conference Realignment in College Athletics”, Porsche Farr focused on three implications conference realignment has on the Sports Marketing Industry. Those three implications Farr mentioned were the loss of identity for conferences, the rivalries between schools and the financial impact involved. 

The loss of conference identity affects sports marketing in that fans and players associate certain schools with certain conferences. One conference that is in shambles today is the Big East Conference. The Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament, held at Madison Square Garden, is one of the most exciting and recognizable events in all of sports. For years, this tournament has consisted of power basketball programs such as Syracuse, Louisville, and Pittsburgh. However, as of 2014, the Big East will no longer have these three schools, as they will join the Atlantic Coast Conference. Marketing wise, this hurts the Big East Conference majorly because Louisville, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse consist of some of the conference’s biggest fan markets. The second implication conference realignment has on sports marketing is that it causes rivalries to be ruined, rivalries which date back as far as the 1800s. For instance, the “Backyard Brawl”, one of the most famous college football rivalries between Pittsburgh and West Virginia University, was ended in 2011 due to West Virginia leaving the Big East and joining the Big 12. Another example is “The Missouri-Kansas Border War” rivalry which dates back to the 1890s. This rivalry ended in 2012 when Missouri left the Big 12 for the South Eastern Conference. Rivalries are used as great marketing tools for the fans, as well as for the players. The rivalry game is usually the biggest game of the year, and as a marketer, you want your product to be known and seen by all the fans. Coaches use rivalries to market and recruit players to come to their university. With the loss of these traditional rivalries, marketers and coaches are going to have a harder time selling their product. Also, “Rivalry Week” in college basketball is a huge marketing week for ESPN. Without these long-established rivalries, “Rivalry Week” will not be the same, or even exist, and ESPN could possibly lose one of its biggest weeks for the network. Last, the financial impact caused by conference realignment has an impact on sports marketing in one major way, and that being television contracts. One important aspect to know in all of this conference realignment is that TV contracts rule everything, and for some conferences, such as the Big Ten and the SEC, conference realignment will provide a huge boost to their revenue. A perfect example of this is the Big Ten and their recent additions of the University of Maryland and Rutgers University. By adding these two universities, the Big Ten’s television network, Big Ten Network, will acquire more viewers from the Washington D.C./Baltimore and New York/New Jersey television markets. New television markets equals new revenue and not only will this help the conferences, it will also provide revenue for the individual universities as well.

Although there are a few negative implications to the Sports Marketing Industry, conference realignment provides one big, positive implication, and that being money. And in the end, isn’t that what college sports all comes down to?

"NFL Crown-of-the-Helmet Rule: The End of Football as We Know It?"

From Bleacher Report

Review by Chris Lee in SRM 334 (section 1)

For the current event presentation we chose to discuss the new NFL rule changes being made in the 2013 off season. Along with the decision to eliminate the infamous tuck rule, NFL owners also voted to enforce the “crown of helmet rule” in their annual winter meeting held in Phoenix, Arizona on March 20, 2013. The crown of helmet rule basically states that ball carriers are no longer to initiate contact with the crown of their helmets outside the tackle box. There will be a 15 yard penalty for this infraction and incidental contact will be excused by the referees.

The reasoning behind the recent helmet rule change was to reduce concussions, neck damage, and head trauma in an effort to make the game safer. Since the rule has passed, plenty of controversy has surrounded it within the media and many players, coaches, and league affiliates have shown varying opinions about the issue. People like St. Louis Rams’ head coach Jeff Fisher agree with the rule and think that it will have a positive impact on player safety. When asked about the new rule he responded, “We're bringing the shoulder back to the game. The helmet is a protective device, but it's not being used as that as of late. This is to protect the players.”

While there has been some support for the rule change many players, mainly current and former running backs, have been upset with the idea that the league is becoming too soft. Many of these people have turned to social media devices such as twitter to express their dissatisfaction. Marshall Faulk, a football analyst for the NFL network and legendary running back, is among these people and recently tweeted, “The new RB rule is a joke.” Emmitt Smith, Matt Forte, Justin Forsett, and many others have also publicly disagreed with the crown of helmet rule.

This topic is relevant to the class because it deals with sports media outlets such as ESPN and how they have heavily covered mainly the negative reactions to the rule change. Personally I have heard very few analysts stick up for the rule change, and most of Sportscenter’s coverage broadcasts the negative views about how the game will never be the same and how the NFL is turning into “two hand touch football.” Overall I think that it is important for the media to share both sides of the story in order to not come off as being biased about a particular issue.
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Review by Donnie Carroll in SRM 334 (section 1)
The NFL recently passed several rule changes to take effect in the upcoming season. Most of which were necessary and improved the game, but the one that stirred up a lot of negative attention was the “crown of the helmet rule.” This rule states that a ballcarrier three or more yards downfield cannot initiate contact leading with the crown of his helmet. Many believe that the passing of this rule has to do with the former NFL player plaintiffs in the concussion related lawsuits toward the NFL not protecting the players enough. 

Twitter absolutely blew up with outrage once this rule was passed, with former and current NFL players in opposition to the rule. All of this negative attention towards this rule caused fans to also express their opinions on the rule and believe that the NFL is taking the protection issue way too far. ESPN has conducted several interviews with players who oppose the new rule on Sportscenter. It seems as if both media and social media have accomplished associating a negative connotation with the new rule change. A few coaches and former players have stressed the “safety first,” aspect but not much positive attention has come with this new rule. If only negativity is coming from all angles of the media, the fans will react the same was as the players who are expressing their opinions through the different channels of media.

The media has a reputation for putting a negative spin on stories, but it seems a bit too much when regarding entertainment purposes being more important that players’ safety. It is evident that the fans will follow the players’ reactions but it does not help that the media is not giving an ample amount of coverage to the other side of the story.

"Alabama extends scholarship offer to 8th grade phenom Dylan Moses"

From AL.com

Review by Ethan Miller in SRM 334 (section 2)

When I was graduating 8th grade, the only thing I had on my mind was what summer camp I was going to attend or how to avoid getting shoved in lockers my first day of high school. I was not at a stage in my life where I could make one of the biggest decisions of my life and choose where I would attend college. That’s why I believe that there should be an age limit on when college recruitment can begin. Dylan Moses is currently an 8th grade student, who next Fall will be attending University Lab High School, which happens to be 2 miles away from LSU’s football stadium. Moses has received scholarship offers from both Alabama and LSU, two bitter rivals, but has not signed a letter of intent for either. For now, he has only given a verbal commitment, which allows him to change his mind if he chooses later on. 

This whole system is wrong. It is wrong to recruit an 8th grader. It’s wrong to put a 14 year old under that kind of pressure. It’s wrong to expose a child to the media scrutiny that Dylan Moses is now going to face. Moses is being forced to choose between the two best schools in the SEC. He’s going to be playing for a high school that is within walking distance to the LSU football stadium. Do you really think there won’t be any backlash if he chooses to play for Alabama? Do you really think that people in the community aren’t going to try to persuade him to choose one school over the other? Through their recruitment of Moses, these college programs have forced Moses under a microscope from the media that could change his life forever. One thing that increased media attention could bring would be more exposure for Moses and possibly lead him to getting more offers from other schools. If he has the proper support system that is able to help advise him amongst his newfound fame, then he will be able to benefit from the media exposure. However, it seems to rarely happen that way. The majority of the stories that we hear about are how kids’ lives are ruined because of the increased media coverage. Often, the kids turn into celebrities within their communities and it ends up ruining them as a person. 14 year olds aren’t supposed to supposed to be making the decisions that Dylan Moses is now forced to make, and I believe that the NCAA needs to step in to ensure it doesn’t happen in the future.

Within college recruitment right now, early recruitment is a growing problem. I think that the NCAA needs to be proactive in facing this problem rather than being reactive as they normally are. The recruitment process is beginning earlier and earlier, but we need to make sure that these athletes are still able to have a childhood instead of being forced into the spotlight. The focus needs to remain on the well being of the athlete, rather than the well being of the universities.
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Review by Jonathan Parker in SRM 334 (section 2)

Dylan Moses is a 6 foot 1 inch, 215 pound eighth grader from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dylan plays both running back and linebacker in football. He was invited to the University of Alabama’s Junior Day, which is a day where Alabama offers scholarships to rising seniors in high school who were personally invited. Dylan met the whole coaching staff and personally sat down with Nick Saban, the head coach. Coach Saban informed Dylan and his parents that he would like to offer Dylan a scholarship to play football at the University of Alabama. He told Dylan and his parents that he could be the best player in the class of 2017 and that Alabama wanted to reach out. LSU had already reached out to Dylan earlier by offering him a scholarship, after attending LSU’s football camp for the last couple of years. Dylan will be attending University Lab High School, which is an ear shot away from the LSU stadium and where a recent signee to Alabama attended. This situation could lead to the media following this rising star from now to where ever his career might take him.

Sports Media and Communications should find something like this as an extraordinary opportunity for a story. There are not a lot of eighth graders, or really anyone, that get offers from two of the best football schools in the nation. I feel the media could make it or break it for Dylan because the media could start highlighting him and putting his name out to the nation to follow. This could lead to more scholarship offers for football from other universities. The media could also over hype Dylan, which could put more pressure on Dylan to perform. This could also make him play off his game which could lead to offers being taken away for bad performances. It is possible that it could force so much pressure that it might lead to a career ending injury and ruin Dylan’s plans for his future in football. The media might also ruin Dylan’s parents by the added pressure of being nationally recognized. This in turn could cause the parents to put even more pressure on Dylan to perform better. The parents might cause Dylan to burn out of football by sending him to too many camps and having him completely focused on football instead of life as a 14 year old. The pressures from the media could also affect Dylan’s parents by not allowing their son to participate in any other sports or events that might lead to an injury damaging any chances for other scholarships. Sports Media and Communications in sports are so important because they bring us stories about scholarship offers for sports about young rising stars.

This article is relevant to SRM 334 because it deals with an unusual eighth grader getting scholarship offers from two of the best football school in the country and some of the media attention it has drawn. Since it deals with how the media handles a story, there are certain ways the media could affect a person’s life. One way is that the media could just highlight the player with his play, awards, and his sports career, which could lead to more college offers of scholarships. The other way is that the media could ruin a young rising star by all of the publicity they would implement on this star. Young Dylan would receive and feel the added pressures that come with the territory. So again, this article is relevant for this course because we are not sure how the media will take this young man and shape the rest of his football career. Dylan Moses, a 14 year old just trying to live a normal life, will no longer. This would be due to the media putting the spot light on him at such a young age.

How to Fix the World Baseball Classic

From SI.com, The New Yorker, Bustasports, Nats101.com, and The Washington Times

Review by Sean Sullivan in SRM 334 (section 1)

The topic we selected was the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The reason we selected this topic was because of the lack of media coverage, the incorrect way the media perceives, and the flaws of the WBC. We used numerous sources to cover our topic from all different angles. However, one of the main sources we utilized was the ESPN clip of the Canada versus Mexico brawl. This video offered great insight and inspiration for us to understand the issues amongst the media and the WBC.

There are numerous issues with the WBC and media. When it comes to the WBC itself we can begin with the scheduling. The WBC poorly decided to start the tournament during the NFL Free Agency frenzy and the hype of NCAA Basketball. With the WBC scheduling during the spectacle of NFL Free Agency this makes it extremely difficult for the WBC to gain any media coverage in the U.S. When football is the considered by many as the number one sport in the U.S. baseball must realize that the bulk of media coverage will be geared towards the NFL. To also schedule the WBC tournament around the same time that NCAA Basketball is at its height of popularity is also foolish. During that particular time frame with college basketball conference tournaments going on as well as March Madness it is pure stupidity to assume that the WBC will dominate in terms of media coverage over college basketball. Both events overshadow the WBC with ease. Other issues with the WBC are lack of U.S. baseball stars participating and that games are not televised on cable and only available if fans have the MLB Network channel. If the WBC wanted to improve its chances of receiving heightened media coverage they would have to develop some type of incentive or invoke desire for the top players to play. Many of the players on team USA are minor league prospects or lesser known major league players. If the WBC can make it attractive enough to appeal to the big name players that would drastically enhance the media coverage; because stars attract the eyes. The other issues, as mentioned before, are the games not being televised on cable. The true fans of baseball who would like to watch cannot watch the games unless they have the MLB Network. The WBC has to consider resolving that dilemma by allowing its “blue collar” fans the opportunity to watch the games. Treating the sports fans that way only damages its media coverage.

Now as far as the media and its coverage of the WBC the one flaw they have is summed up perfectly by Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci, “the media covers the WBC for what it is not, rather than for what it is.” This quote exemplifies exactly what is wrong with the media when it comes to covering the WBC. Many of the times the media only shows a brief two-minute highlight clip of a game or sometimes a ten second update of the scores. What also occurs quite frequently is the only time the media gives the WBC extended coverage is when something like the Canada and Mexico bawl takes place. So in order for the WBC to receive any in-depth coverage something rather than the game of baseball itself must occur, aka a brawl. Many were unaware that the WBC was taking place until sports media started discussing the WBC brawl. To relate it to Verducci’s point, WBC only gets mentioned for what it is not (fighting and brawl) rather than what it is, which is the game of baseball. There would not have been an issue with the media coverage of the bawl had the media been offering more in-depth analysis and coverage concerning the games itself. Other issue is whenever media covers the WBC with extended analysis they discuss all the flaws of the WBC, such as scheduling, MLB player participation, etc. The media hardly ever focuses on just the games and the players performances. It always seems to be negative coverage towards the WBC.

All the issues with both the WBC and the media the blame should be mostly blamed on the WBC. The poor decisions thus far have led to many of the WBC lack of media coverage. Why should the media want to cover a sport that does not even appear on television? On top of that why would the media prefer to cover an event that is not on television and is during two of the more popular events (Free Agency and College Basketball) during the same time frame? It does not make any sense for the media to invest their time and money for the WBC, when in reality the WBC can solve these issues by simply swallowing their pride. Baseball is a very prideful sport, it prides itself in its rich history and tradition; it is also handcuffed to it as well. You see the struggle with the MLB today in regards to instant replay. It has taking the MLB years to reach the point it has now with instant replay and yet the MLB still refuses to allow technological advancements to help solve human error which can cost a team a win or a loss. Baseball is so prideful and stubborn that it in the end it hurts the game more than it helps it; this is the same for the WBC. The WBC needs to look at itself and accept its flaws in order to safe itself. Stop blaming the media on this one because it is the WBC’s fault for its lack of media coverage.

This topic is relevant to the course because it shows the flaws on both ends of the spectrum. Yes, the media could do a better job at covering the WBC, but the WBC could do a hell of a lot more to make the media want to cover the WBC. This offers great insight for our course to see how sometimes the media is not the one to blame. Usually people blame the media and sometimes rightfully so, but there are times when it is not the media but the event/sport that is the main issue. This also shows our course what not to do when trying to have a sports tournament. It helps people realizes how important timing and scheduling can be in order to maximizes the tournaments media coverage. Sometimes it is about configuring to the media, because the majority of the time the media does not configure to you.
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Review by Brett Ireland in SRM 334 (section 1)

March 19, 2013 marked the completion of the third World Baseball Classic, crowning the Dominican Republic as world champions. This “tournament” involves 16 teams that represent their country where players may play for the team of the country they were born in, or are a citizen of, regardless of what professional league they play for. Japan has been crowned champions twice while the Dominicans recently became the new champions. Major League Baseball is considered the best and highest level of professional baseball in the world, yet the United States team has yet to place. This tournament happens every four years and has become “Baseball’s Olympics” and the Unites States has not been treating it as such or giving it the recognition in the media that it deserves.

Competing in the Olympics amongst the world’s best is considered a great honor for any individual. This tournament is considered the baseball segment of the Olympics and has showed great success worldwide including high popularity on Japan. The Unites States is not fielding a team that has the best players available. MVPs of recent years were left off the roster and fans and other players of and for the United States team don’t take pride in the team. This is a contributing factor to the lack of media support and coverage of the United States team. Solutions that will allow for better media coverage of the team include, forcing players to participate and changing the time of year the tournament is played. Fielding the best possible team will make the team more competitive and thus more enjoyable to watch. Also, the event takes place at a time when teams are putting together rosters and don’t want to risk their players health ultimately leading to teams prohibiting their players from participating. Changing the time this tournament takes place may allow for more players to join the team.

This is relevant to Sport Media because this presents an important sporting event not getting media coverage. Regular season baseball games are televised on a daily basis as are the Olympics. This is a world stage event that includes high profile players from many different teams and countries. It is considered an honor for some to represent their country and more important than regular season baseball. For the United States, however, many of the best players, including MVPs, elect not to participate and the tournament is not seen as a big deal to American citizens because the games are often not made available for the public to view or listen to.