Job Opportunity: Web Content Curator at Mpower Sports and Recreation

Mpower Sports and Recreation is a disability sport news network where journalists, photographers and filmmakers can tell the stories of our community.  They are hiring for a Web Content Curator position and details can be found here.

Information about Mpower Sports and Recreation can be found on their website.

Internship Opportunities: Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are hiring for several Spring internship positions within the Corporate Hospitality department.  Please click here for details about the Business Development position and here for details about the Client Services internship.

Internship Opportunity: Valley League Sports Media Internship

Valley League Sports Media Internship

Approximate start and end dates: May 22 - Auguest 7 (11+ weeks)

DESCRIPTION: If you love baseball, this is the internship for you. The Valley Baseball League, a summer collegiate league sponsored by MLB, seeks a sports media relations intern for the 2014 season.

VBL was formed in 1923 and became an NCAA-sanctioned league in 1961. Four former players recently participated in the MLB divisional play-offs, and the league boasts a considerable alumni roster of professional players.

The league consists of 11 teams (one in West Virginia and 10 in Virginia), from Charlestown to Covington. Each team plays a 44-game schedule, concluding with two four-team divisional play-offs and a championship series. Players come to the Valley League from colleges and universities around the country. The hub of the league is its website, which uses Pointstreak software to provide statistics and results to fans and also MLB scouts.

The intern’s daily duties will include preparation and posting of game summaries to the league website. The intern will also write weekly features and press releases. The intern will also represent the league as a media professional in contacts with coaches, players, media, and athletic directors. Other duties will include helping with weekly and end-of-season recognition awards (Player of the Week, All-Valley Team, All-Star teams), and contributing to media-related preparations for the mid-season All-Star Game.

Above all else, candidates for this internship must love baseball. This position requires the ability to interpret baseball statistics, knowledge of baseball rules and terminology, and sports writing experience. The intern should be willing to work nights and/or early mornings on a daily basis (games are played seven days a week through the entire season). Attendance at games is not required.

To apply, include a resume, cover letter stating your relevant baseball and journalism experience, and two sports-related writing samples.

Questions can be addressed to Lauren Jefferson, Valley League Sports Media Director, at lxjefferson@earthlink.net.

"Louisville lacrosse coach accused of abusive tactics"

From NJ.com and USA Today

Analysis by Alexis Cross in SRM 334 (section 1)

In today’s NCAA athletic arena it seems as though emotions are a key component in any athlete and coach. For example, Louisville University’s women’s lacrosse team faced various emotional hurdles this fall with the suspension of head coach Kellie Young. Young is a former 2003 James Madison University women’s lacrosse coach. While at JMU she led the team to three NCAA appearances. Unfortunately, head coach is now under investigation for complaints of abusive tactics from 6 former and previous Louisville lacrosse players. It is believed that head coach Young had just crossed the line. There were a few examples in the various articles, for example one being, coach had made a player with a torn ACL do 250 push-ups as punishment in an airport terminal.

Lacrosse is a fast growing sport and really doesn’t get the media coverage it deserves. However, in this case Louisville is getting almost too much coverage. The team, coaching staff and the school are all under investigation. It is just unfortunate that the coverage the media is providing is apparently exaggerating the information. I have a friend on the team and she stated “I feel so bad for my coach, they’re exaggerating everything, it is just awful here.” As outsiders prospective, it is hard to really know what to believe about this case. Does the head coach have her team brain- washed in other words, thinking that her coaching style is ok and normal? Or is the media just amplifying the information.

As a player, I could not imagine what the team is going through right now. It is my understanding that they did still compete this fall in tournaments under the assistant coaches. But the amount of stress this now adds to the team. It will be interesting to see how the case plays out and will the team overcome this adversity to compete they want to this spring.

Relating this topic to class, the media is inevitably changing the world of sports and how fast stories can get out. Also the fact that media is now so dominant in athletics, as a society we are so wrapped up in sports. The media has to keep up with how interested people are in knowing what is going on in the professional, college and maybe even high school sports. On the other hand, this scandal has showed me if I was ever interested in working in athletics how important being prepared and relationships are. Being prepared to handle any situations that are thrown at us in the athletic department. And the fact that continuing to develop relationships every day cannot only but help you when things like this come up. As a University you get through it together.

---

Analysis by Jonathan Barden in SRM 334 (section 1)

The article I focused on was found on usatoday.com written by Adam Himmelsbach and was titled “Louisville lacrosse coach accused of abusive tactics”. The article took little time getting into the meat of the matter and dishing out the gossip a lot of readers would want to read about. After a short introduction the article swiftly moved into bullet pointing some of the worst offenses the coach had been accused of handing out to her players. The head coach, Kellie Young was allowed a few lines to defend herself in which she explained not all of these actions were 100% correct and then the article continued in a rather negative light, explaining more disturbing stories and action, or lack of action taken by the school to combat her behavior.

Analyzing this article from a media standpoint I would say that this article was rather one sided and definitely gave coach Young a bad name if you were to simply read this piece alone. The attempt to create a well-balanced article by throwing in the odd quote from Kellie Young did not really help her case as the next point immediately put her back down again by using rumored stories from disgruntled ex-players. From researching this story in depth a lot of other current players strongly stand by the coach and claim a lot of this information has been blown out of proportion or completely fabricated, but these point of views were unsurprisingly not included.

Despite this I would still say the article was a well written and well-researched piece. It definitely went in depth to the story, had numerous sources close to the camp and was able to use quotes from named players and parents to back up points made. In addition to this the author had clearly researched the topic well and had a good understanding of what was happening in the story, from disgruntled parents to the roles the athletic director and athletic administrator in attempting to control the situation.

I believe this article is extremely relevant to our course as it clearly shows how to write and lay out a news story to grab the reader’s attention. The title of “Louisville lacrosse coach accused of abusive tactics” immediately draws the reader in as it tells you there is going to be drama in the story happening as a very well respected sports program. And sports fans love nothing more than a drama filled sports story. Then after a brief introduction and laying out of the story it immediately gets into the key gossip filled points that most readers probably read the article for. This is an important tactic used for this type of writing as the reader is now hooked into the story and you can start to detail in more detail and more specifically what actually happened. Additionally the use of quotes not only adds more reliable information to the story but also helps break up the monotony sometimes found in articles that drag on without switching pace at all. The use of the “Story Highlights” section down the left hand column also helps to break up the story and is another effective tactic to entice the reader to read on. All of these tactics could be taken on board by members of our class to improve the standard of our sports writing in the future.

"No bowl ban for Miami Hurricanes"

From ESPN.com

Analysis by Alyssa Hough in SRM 334 (section 1)

Our media topic dealt with the NCAA finally making a decision on the University of Miami Nevin Shapero scandal. In November, 2009, Miami notified the NCAA about their investigation of one of their boosters, Nevin Shapero. They were investigating because he was throwing parties for athletes, taking them to strip clubs, buying them several things including food, clothes, and hotels for family and girlfriends, and other things. The media released information about this investigation once it came out in 2009, but very little information was disseminated after that until now. This is because the NCAA has finally made a decision as to what the punishment will be for the University of Miami. 

The NCAA decided to not ban the Miami Hurricanes from any bowl games, but has decided to take away some scholarships for football and basketball. They are taking away three scholarships from football and one from basketball each year for the next three years. This will total to nine scholarships lost in the football program and three in basketball. The NCAA weighed heavily the fact that The University of Miami decided to self-impose penalties while the investigation was going on when making their final decision. Miami put a two year bowl ban on themselves, and limited the number of scholarships they were giving out while this situation was being investigated.

It was interesting how the media released information about the case when it first came out in 2009, but then it faded away until now when the NCAA finally made a decision. I think the media stayed out of the issue because The University of Miami did a great job with their crisis management plan, and took control of the situation from the beginning. They self-imposed what could seem to be harsh punishments on themselves during the investigation to show how they are taking this seriously. There has been a lot of negative talk on social media sites like twitter saying that they think the NCAA let Miami off too easily for what they did. Schools like USC are making their disapproval with the decision known because they were hit hard with punishments from the NCAA in 2010. One thing that happened to USC is that they had 30 scholarships taken away from them while Miami only lost a total of 12. There has been a lot of talk about how the NCAA slapped Miami on the wrist and did not decide on a harsh enough punishment. However, the NCAA defends their decision by stating that they took into consideration their compliance and self-imposed punishments during the investigation.

Like we learned in class, you have to have a good crisis management plan in place because you never know when something unexpected is going to come about. Miami did a great job in managing this scandal, and because of that was rewarded with a lighter punishment from the NCAA. I think this will be something that other schools start to implement into their crisis management plan because it makes the school look good for owning what happened and dealing with it immediately. Even on Miami's website they have a link labeled NCAA Investigation. Under this link you can stay up to date with the investigation and the process of it. By including that on their site I believe they used the media to their benefit. Miami did a great job making sure they controlled the situation so the media could not bury the school in the scandal.

---

Analysis by Ben Eidle in SRM 334 (section 1)

Nevin Shapiro is a former booster of the University of Miami. He is no longer a booster because he was violating NCAA rules by providing special benefits to athletes in multiple sports. Shapiro gave athletes access to his yacht and he also paid for certain things that athletes wanted. The investigation by the NCAA began in 2009 and all of a sudden the case resurfaced this past week when the NCAA released their punishment for the University.

This case has a lot to do with crisis management and how it was handled by the University of Miami. The reason for this is because during the investigation stage the story was not talked about much on many media sources compared to other scandals at other similar institutions. There are many reasons that the media could have been ignoring this story that was going on for over two years.

The first thing that I can think of for the media talking about the story for a short period of time is because these types of cases come out about schools a decent amount of time. Improper benefits are given out at schools and they end up being caught. Even though this case was an extreme of improper benefits because they were given out over an eight year period they were still the benefits which may have caused the media not to care.

The next thing that I believe kept the media away from this story is because of the way the university handled the situation internally. The university properly reported what had occurred to the NCAA and continued with their own investigation into the subject matter. They then quickly placed self-imposed sanctions on themselves. These sanctions they put on themselves were unique because they were the harshest self-imposed sanctions a school has given to date. With the postseason bans for football and the reduction of scholarships the media reported this and then it died. I believe this occurred because I feel like the media had the idea that the sanctions were so significant that they did not feel a lot more was going to happen. The crisis management team made proper choices when dealing with the sanctions but they also made sure that they were saying the proper things when necessary. The university was making sure that they were keeping the public updated on what was going on with the case. This takes away from the necessity of the media because if a story is being reported from the main source then it is unnecessary to have the media report on it.

Another thought about the sanctions that the NCAA handed out has to do with the media as well. Usually when a story is being followed a person notices that the penalties are very large. The media was not covering this story as much as others have been. Even though this may not be true the NCAA may be influence by the media because the attention each individual case is given. For example, when USC was receiving their sanctions from the NCAA for the Reggie Bush problem they were being covered all of the time. The sanctions for USC turned out to be some of the worst sanctions given out to a school. The NCAA may have seen that this case was being covered heavily and that may have pressured them into showing everybody they are a strong governing body and over penalized the school. Since Miami was not being covered as much there was no pressure in giving out sanctions that were very large.

Since the NCAA released their sanctions the media has been debating whether or not that the penalties given out were bad enough. This hot topic is important because there are schools that have done less and received more. Also, there are people that believe because Miami put such strict sanctions on their own the NCAA lightened up on the penalties that they were going to give. The debate with the media has grown tremendously since it was first discussed. It has been a topic on social media recently with many different people voicing their opinions from newspaper columnists to fans. All of this shows how powerful the media can be when presenting certain topics.

"England manager Roy Hodgson apologizes for monkey joke"

From Sports Illustrated

Analysis by Alexandra Sullivan in SRM 334 (section 2)

On Thursday October 17th CNN Sports Illustrated posted an article about England’s soccer team manager Roy Hodgson. England played Poland on Tuesday October 15th, which was a big game because the winner would advance to the World Cup. England ended up winning 2-0 against Poland. The article focuses on a greater issue rather than writing about England celebrating the win to advance to the world cup. During half time, Roy Hodgson compared player Andros Townsend to a space monkey. Hodgson meant the comparison as a compliment and did not think about a monkey being a racial slur. The media blew this story out of proportion because Townsend is half black, which means a monkey comment towards him could be taken offensively. Hodgson realized what he had said and apologized to Townsend, the team, and the FA (Football Association). Townsend and other teammates took to twitter to defend Hodgson. Townsend assured the FA and Hodgson that he did not take any offense to the monkey comment, he understood the point the coach was trying to make. Hodgson used the space monkey joke as a generation joke. Space monkeys were used by NASA in the 1960s and 70s and the monkeys were known to be intelligent animals that contributed to success in space flights. Townsend knew Hodgson used this comparison as a good thing. Anti-racism group Kick It Out and anti-discrimination group FARE are demanding an investigation to the story. These groups wanted to publicize this comment to make people aware that the words they are use can be taken offensively. Kick It Out and FARE took to twitter to comment about this story. These groups tweeted that Hodgson knew what he was saying and needs to be aware that he is in a diverse environment and should not be using those kinds of words. The chairman of the FA is backing up Hodgson saying he is an honorable man who is doing a great job coaching the England soccer team. The FA and team stand by Hodgson.

Hodgson is bringing in negative media attention to the team in a time of happiness and celebration. If it were not for social media this story would not have gotten as much attention as it is getting. Now-a-days people are able to freely express their thoughts for everyone to see. Kick It Out and FARE are able to reach more people through social media and get their thoughts to the public faster. Stories spread like wild fire on social media. It is easy for people to share stories to one another and give their opinions. In this case social media blew up the story more than it should have because Hodgson immediately apologizes and no one took offense to the comment. Even with no offense taken from the players, some people still had a problem with the words used and expressed their thoughts through the use of twitter.This issue is relevant to SRM 334 because it proves that everyone contributes to news stories. People can use blogs, facebook, twitter, and other social media outlets to quickly get information out or get their word out. Not everyone has to be a certified journalist or news reporter to get a story out into the public. It is easier for people to stay updated on breaking stories or access information on an issue through the use of social media. Twitter was used positively and negatively in this article. Townsend and teammates were able to assure the public that they still support their coach and this comment was an innocent mistake. On the other hand Kick It Out and FARE were able to use twitter to inform people that comments like that are not acceptable and people need to be aware of their surrounding and the words they use. 

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Analysis by Samantha Mitchell in SRM 334 (section 2)

On October 16th 2013, Manager Roy Hodgson apologized for making a monkey joke during halftime of the England vs. Poland match, the day prior. Someone from Hodgson’s team leaked information to The Sun newspaper, that during halftime he made a joke about space monkeys in the England Locker room as he was trying to explain to his players that they needed to pass the ball to Andros Townsend. Townsend is African American and the word “monkey” has been used in the past in racial context. 

The monkey joke that Hodgson used was referring to space monkeys that NASA sent into space in the 1960s and 70s. In the statement that Hodgson released Wednesday night, he mentioned that he did not mean the comment in an inappropriate way and made that clear to Andros as soon as it happened. He talked with Andros again the next day to make sure Andros understood the way he meant the comment. Andros understood what he really meant with the comment and assured Hodgson and the Football Association that he took no offense to it.

Andros and many other England players took to twitter to defend Hodgson. None of the players thought it was meant in a racist way and think it is ridiculous that it is being reported on. Greg Dyke, the Football Association chairman, also defended and supported Hodgson. However Kick It Out, an anti-racism organization, does not want a similar situation to happen again, so they are demanding an investigation. Piara Power, the executive director of FARE an anti-discrimination organization, also took to twitter mentioning that Hodgson should have known better and it was silly of him to use that term.

If this information had not been leaked to the media and then published, this situation could have been completely avoided. The media took this and ran with it. Not a single player was offended by the comment made and Hodgson did not mean it to be offensive in any way. He explains in this article that it is more of a generational joke. So therefore, anyone who knows of the monkey joke that took place in the 1960-70’s would be able to realize what he truly meant with this comment.

When the media publishes something that should have never been published, people are going to get frustrated and turn to social media to take out their opinions. This is exactly what happened in this situation. Twitter became an outlet for players and other people to comment on this issue. This information being leaked to the media and then published on the front page of The Sun newspaper also took away from the fact that England qualified for the World Cup by beating Poland. Instead of shedding positive light on the England team, the media is shed negative light on Hodgson, which took away from this great achievement. This article is very relevant to this course because this course is about sports media. This article is covering sports and it has to do with the media making this situation a much bigger issue than it should have been. The media is known to take negative issues and report on them because of the drama it creates. The media has certainly done this with this particular incident and it has not given the proper credit to a team that deserves huge recognition.

"Twitter Strikes Deal With NFL"

From the Wall Street Journal

Analysis by Allison Straley in SRM 435 (section 2)

The article “Twitter Strikes Deal With NFL” is an overview on the new relationship that has formed between Twitter and the NFL. This deal allows the NFL to tweet out news, analysis of games and players, as well as in-game highlights from the games on Thursday night and Sundays from the NFL Network as well as other programs such as CBS and Fox.

Adding the NFL highlights to Twitter is part of Twitter’s Amplify program. This is a revenue-generating program that lets organizations, such as the NFL, sponsor tweets that come up in users’ Twitter feeds. In every clip that the NFL puts out, there is a short ad embedded before the clip starts. The revenue generated from these ads is split between both companies. Coming from a marketing and promotion standpoint, I feel that there are positives and negatives to this new relationship. The main positive being that the NFL and Twitter both have such a huge following that what they are trying to accomplish will occur. With these tweets being ‘officially sponsored’ they automatically come up in a users’ Twitter feed so they are easily accessible during the game to see these highlights. However, and here is when the negatives arise, if for some reason a user is not going through Twitter during a game, when they go to check the next day they may have to scroll through multiple tweets before finding the clips. Being in a fast-paced society where consumers want things the quickest way possible, they might give up on finding the clips when they can possibly just YouTube them; especially having the ads play before. 

This deal is relevant to the course because promotion is a main component of the marketing mix. Within promotion itself there are also components, two being publicity and licensing. These mixes are the basis of marketing and without them marketing would not exist. The NFL is using the licensing from Twitter to promote their in-game highlights on users’ feeds and they are giving these companies the publicity by playing the short ads before the clips to help generate revenue. 

The President of Twitter’s Global Revenue, Adam Bain said, “putting the NFL's "highly coveted content" on Twitter "will not only offer our users a unique programming schedule which will deepen their engagement with our platform but will also provide our sponsors with a value proposition that few other partners can bring to the table” (Sharma, 2013). 
This deal is one that other major programs should consider looking into. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to get information across, and with Twitter having millions of followers the NFL’s new platform is definitely going to take off.

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Analysis by Katherine Lampa in SRM 435 (section 2)

In our article “Twitter Strikes Deal With NFL”, the specifics of the deal between the two companies are discussed. It will be a twenty-four- seven service as the NFL plans to have a team “dedicated to producing programming for Twitter users seven days a week”(Sharma, 2013). Games that are aired on the NFL Network will be featured on Twitter during the game, while other highlights from other networks will come later. Every video tweeted will have a short advertisement before the start of the video and the NFL and whichever company is producing the ad will share the revenue. Verizon will be a main sponsor throughout the entire season including the Super Bowl as they will be the “exclusive Twitter advertiser”. They will be paying one billion dollars over the next four years to expand their “rights to air NFL games on cellphones through an NFL Mobile app”(Sharma, 2013). During Monday Night Football the NFL will be the only account tweeting out highlights as ESPN has not been awarded those rights. 

The usage of Twitter will help actually get the ads in the face of consumers because they are short and you cannot skip by them like you may be able to do on television. Twitter has billions of users that are checking in all day every day so promoting the relationship between the NFL and Twitter will not be a problem. I think the deal creates great opportunities for both parties as Twitter continues to grow as the most widely used social media network and the NFL continues to dominate the sports world. As more people find out that clips are in- game highlights I think that more people will join Twitter to consequently follow the NFL. Marketing will pretty much take care of itself because Twitter is so easy to use. Twitter makes for a great promotions platform for the NFL because so many people can view these clips from all over the world. The publicity both the NFL and Twitter are going to get from this deal is going to be huge as they will promote each other constantly.

This relates to our class in a few ways, but mostly because it is a perfect example of social media taking over the sports world as a main promoter. While there is no person to person contact to reinforce the advertisements general users can still communicate with people in charge much easier than ever before. The use of Twitter to promote sports creates many more opportunities for great customer relations and community relations as fans can come together over Twitter. Overall, I am surprised it took this long for the two to sign an official deal and it will be interesting to see how it plays out and how popular it becomes.

"Leagues embrace Twitter, with eye on future revenue"

From SportBusiness Journal

Analysis by Alex Willner in SRM 435 (section 1)

Twitter has developed into an intriguing platform where sporting agencies can capitalize on consumer engagement and consumption. Many sports have recognized that twitter is a cheap and easy way to interact with fans and possible customers. The article “Leagues Embrace Twitter, With Eye on Future Revenue” explains how various sports view twitter as a powerful means to connect with fans on and off the field. 

From a marketing standpoint, twitter is a perfect way for fans to stay tuned-in with team or player interest stories. At this point, twitter is not looked upon as such a way to maximize profits, but more of a menas for fans to stay connected with teams. Leagues believe twitter will drive profits in the long run but in the mean time, it is a great way to stay connected. During major sporting events such as the World Series, Final Four, and Super Bowl, sports can make up about 90 percent of all TV-related tweets. In the last month, the NFL and twitter signed a large-scale deal worth and undisclosed amount in the low eight figures. The deal includes football highlights, fantasy material and other content posted on the micro blogging site. In addition, the deal allows the league to partner with Twitter’s new Amplify advertising platform.

Twitter utilized the Nielson study as of August, which found 29 percent of 221 broadcast shows from across various genres, saw a significant increase in their live ratings from heightened Twitter activity. This not only is a sign that people closely follow Twitter feeds, but also and indication that people took action based off of tweets. An increase in viewership not only means greater exposure for teams, but also opens an intriguing opportunity for sponsors to become integrated. Existing NFL sponsors such as McDonalds and Verizon have signed on as advertisers in the venture. Both of these corporate partners have a shown their values and goals align closely with the NFL and feel they can mutually benefit from an opportunity such as this. Through extensive efforts between Twitter and leagues, there can be mutual benefits to maximize profits. 

---Analysis by Schuyler LaClair in SRM 435 (section 1)

The past five to seven years nothing has grown quicker and more vastly than social media. Twitter is one of the top dogs when it comes to the social media industry. Twitter is so widely used now it’s starting to turn into an untapped marketing tool, especially to sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, and MLB. As John Ourand and Eric Fisher write in an article in Sports Business Journal, leagues are starting to embrace twitter as a possible tactic to increase their revenue stream. 

Two main events that saw increased TV views along with high twitter activity were Sunday Night Football with the Cowboys versus the Redskins and Game 2 of the American League Championship Series with the Red Sox versus the Tigers on October 13th, 2013. Both games had a combined 1.1 million tweets along with increased viewership, SNF getting over 22 million viewers and the ALCS Game 2 around 8 million. Leagues are starting to see the connection between high twitter activity and TV viewership and ratings. The NFL is one league that is trying to partner with Twitter and harness the tools that Twitter offers tweeting game highlights and stats along with fantasy stats. They recently signed a one-year deal around eight figures to “test the waters” and other leagues are watching closely to see how it goes.

This relates to marketing to the point where this is just the start of a whole new type of marketing strategy. Even with leagues having high interest in possibly partnering up with Twitter they are still nervous about the risks of possible flopping if money were to be put into the idea. Over the next one to two years the NBA, MLB, and NHL will be watching closely to see not only what happens with the NFL but to gain more knowledge and find a link between Twitter activity and increased revenue. If successful, who knows where the marketing industry will be after social media tactics are introduced.

Internship Opportunity: Nutmeg State Games in Connecticut

The Nutmeg State Games is the largest amateur multi-sport sporting event in Connecticut. Now celebrating its 25th anniversary of uniting Connecticut’s residents in the common bond of amateur sport and Olympic spirit.

There are positions available for college students seeking a short term or full time internship. Students will gain valuable experience in sport and event management while assisting in the organization in a variety of events. Please click here for more information.

"Paralympics to get live coverage from Sochi"

From SportBusiness Journal

Analysis by Katie Davis in SRM 334 (section 2)

After lackluster coverage of the London Paralympic Games, the NBC Sports Group is working with the United States Olympic Committee to create a deal that will give greater coverage of U.S Paralympic Athletes at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games than viewers have seen in previous games.

From a media and communications stand point, this deal marks a turning point in how disability sports, whether at the Paralympic level, or at a local level, will be broadcast. In the past few years, coverage of the Paralympic Games has increased, but not nearly to the level of the Olympic Games. These will the first games to offer live coverage of Paralympic events. I think that this broadcast will reach a larger demographic and make disability sports on television more common in United States households.

This deal demonstrates how the new model of communication is used. The deal entails not only 3.5 hours on NBC’s broadcast network and 46.5 hours on its cable channel, NBC Sports Network, but it also includes live streaming on the US Paralympics website. Presenting the option of live streaming by sport allows NBC and the U.S. Olympic Committee to reach various niche audiences. Having three different access points also allows viewers to have a more customized viewing experience, whether on standard television or through computers.Overall, after this deal is finalized, coverage of the Paralympic Games in Sochi will expand dramatically and allow viewers a more customized experience in how they watch the game. In turn, more people will become aware of disability sports.

--

Analysis by Craig Rollyson in SRM 334 (section 2)

On September 23, 2013, Sports Business Journal released an article announcing increased coverage for next year’s Winter Paralympic games in Sochi, Russia. Last year, NBC was heavily critiqued for not offering more coverage of the Paralympic games. The International Paralympic Committee, as well as persons with disabilities, expressed their frustration over such little exposure, mainly due to the significant impact last year’s games had on the Paralympic community. 

NBC sports group is finalizing a deal with the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), which will result in a total of fifty hours of coverage on NBC and NBC Sports Network. This is a dramatic increase from last year’s measly five and a half hours of coverage that was also taped and reached viewers at delayed times. NBC will be showing the games live, as well as offering live streaming of Paralympic events in which United States athletes will be competing. Anyone with a computer will be able to view the games, and the streaming can be found at USParalympics.org. Although the deal has not been finalized, the main terms have been agreed upon, despite a few minor “kinks” that are still being worked out between NBC and the USOC.

From a media standpoint, the additional coverage will greatly benefit niche audiences, as well as those who just want to watch the games. The live streaming that is to be offered will allow a person to locate specific athletes in specific events, which will give the viewers more control over what he/she watches. This ability for viewers to watch what they want reflects the new version of the sports communication model. Instead of the games being offered solely to the mass media (NBC), which can only reach out to NBC viewers, they have offered content for niche audiences who can view the games through live streaming. Content providers are giving the viewers more control over what they watch, which will greatly expand the audience NBC aims to reach. The additional coverage will also be beneficial for those who have an interest in the Paralympic games. The additional fifty hours of live coverage will be a significant increase from last year’s games, which was tape-delayed. These changes will allow the millions of people in the United States to view the Paralympic games like never before, and bring new light and positive awareness to the Paralympic community. In the past, NBC offered only re-caps of the games, and no live coverage whatsoever. Next year, the United States will have full coverage of the top athletes with disabilities in the world, which should greatly increase the popularity of the event. In class we discussed how expanding to niche audiences and providing new and exciting content for viewers benefits media broadcasting networks. NBC will be offering the games to niche audiences, as well as providing new and interesting content for viewers, which will positively impact the network’s and bring long overdue, deserving awareness to the Paralympic games and participating athletes.

"Grambling football team not bluffing"

From ESPN.com

Analysis by Michael Creighton in SRM 334 (section 1)

The Grambling State football team did not play in their game scheduled for Saturday October 19 against Jackson State. According to an article on espn.go.com, the players were protesting poor facility conditions, management, and the administration. During the week leading up to the game the players boycotted practice and walked out of meetings. The administration fired the head coach, Doug Williams, in September and replaced him with an interim head coach that the players did not approve of even though they had submitted a list of other possible coaches they would have been much happier with. Facility conditions and management of the team have been deteriorating since the beginning of the season and the players had finally had enough of it and refused to get on the buses to travel to Saturday’s game. If the players had not refused to play in their game on Saturday I don’t think the media would have gotten involved. 

Grambling State is a small school and does not receive much media attention as it is. Refusing to play in their game Saturday was the breaking point and now multiple media outlets are covering the story. It appears that the players were attempting to deal with the matter internally because there was no formal outcry or attempt to gain media attention. The original perception of the players boycotting the program was taken as a bunch of stuck up college athletes looking to corner the administration into getting what they wanted. As the media began to pick up on the story however, what they unveiled was a more serious matter that involved player safety and unsafe training conditions. 

The letter that the players wrote to the administration detailing their concern and frustration with the program has been leaked through media outlets and provides the public with a much bettering understanding on why the players chose to forfeit their game. Additionally the media has given the public the opportunity to actually see the conditions that the players are complaining about by uploading pictures to the Internet. The situation at Grambling State highlights the power of the college athlete and their ability to gain media attention so quickly. On Saturday, the twitter account for the school’s newspaper, The Gramblinite, had hour-by-hour updates of whether or not the players were going to get on the buses to travel. Last week The Gramblinite also tweeted every time the players skipped a meeting or practice in protest. In today’s world, a tweet about a local situation or controversy can spread so quickly that the national media does not even have to try to locate a story; it simply falls into their lap. When I first saw the tweets about Grambling State, the most popular ones that appeared on my news feed stated that the football team would not be traveling to their game. To understand why they were not traveling I had to do some investigating. I think the media’s take had an interesting spin to it because the bigger concern is the player safety, not the fact that they forfeited their game. Luckily for the Grambling State football team their situation is being brought into the national spotlight. However, it is a shame they had to go through such drastic measures to get there.

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Analysis by James Naylor in SRM 334 (section 1)

On Tuesday October 15th, the Grambling State football team held a meeting with administration. A team decision was made by the players to not attend practice the following day. Administration realized that it was time to make a change so they fired interim head coach Greg Ragsdale. The players decided to not play in Saturday’s game at Jackson State. Buses were in the parking lot waiting for players to board at 2:30 but no one showed. The buses waited over an hour for the student athletes, but they made their message to administration clear that they were not coming.

What is getting so much media attention however, is the letter the players collectively made regarding all the problems they want changed within the program. They noted complaints of mold and mildew in the locker room, grass growing excessively too high on the field, jersey’s that aren’t properly washed and are giving the players staff infections and a number of other things. What is most important here is all the coverage Grambling State is receiving over this. ESPN, Bleacher Report, and various social media have brought the public’s attention to this issue. If this story had not been brought to the public, these players could have been stuck accepting these poor conditions or potentially lose their scholarships. The media has made this a major news story and now Grambling State is responding to these players’ concerns by renovating the weight room and looking at the other problems like the jerseys being properly cleaned. What is very surprising about the media coverage of Grambling State is that this team is a very poor FCS college team. This national media attention is mostly due to the fact that the team simply forfeited. USA Today tweeted about the whole situation on Saturday stating, “The most interesting story in college football is the team that won’t be playing Saturday”.

This story relates specifically to our class because it is the perfect example of the new model and how information is being spread across the nation. Various media such as print, electronic and social media are disseminating this information about Grambling State, many with the main goal of helping this team reach their goals. The fact that this team forfeited and the condition in the program are horrible is already newsworthy, but since the media is covering this story so in depth, administration at Grambling State will now have to respond to these players’ concerns and not just sweep it under the rug. This just shows the power and importance of media in sports.

MLB post-season coverage on TBS

From MLB.com and AwfulAnnouncing.com

Analysis by Steve Dombrowski in SRM 334 (section 1)

America is always intrigued by an underdog story. This year that story is the rise and sudden success of the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team who has not made the playoffs in 21 years. Every year for the past seven, TBS has had the rights to broadcast all of Major League Baseball’s Divisional Series along with one of the Championship Series. This year, while watching the Pirates take on the Reds at PNC Park along the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh I was absolutely shocked by the lack of coverage of the pregame ceremony. The Buccos have been waiting over two decades for this and the emotions were extremely high. As a baseball fan, I was extremely intrigued by what they would do to celebrate and all TBS did was talk in the studio about how emotional it actually was. So we did a little research on the subject and we discovered that I was not the only one let down by TBS’s coverage as a whole.

With the popular demand in our society for coverage of sporting events, it is now essential to have top of the line analysis of the game. Especially now that it is playoff time, every pitch is critical. During October, baseball is competing with the NFL, college football, NHL, and the NBA preseason. All four major sports are playing at some part of their season so it is crucial that TBS gets the game perfectly. However, they have not. Fans and other analysts within the profession have been complaining about the ridiculous camera shots and at times lack to a quality audio. Another issue TBS is having is lack of experience in the booth. Cal Ripken, former Orioles great, was taken out of the studio and put in the booth for the first time in these playoffs. He replaced former Braves pitcher John Smoltz, who was demoted to the “B game” announcer. Smoltz had a generally good reputation for his commentary and it was a bit curious why he was replaced. Luckily Ripken has not been doing anything too bad to get noticed. However, when an announcer is poor or biased to a part in the game, many fans will change to some other game or at best mute their television. This is not what you want if you are paying millions, possibly billions of dollars for the rights to air the game.

This topic is relevant from a media standpoint because these issues are all about the production and success and blunders that go in to trying to make a game as pleasurable as possible. For example, the Truss Cam that was implemented at a couple of stadiums for these games is a cool new way to see different angles and get you up close and personal from a outfielders perspective. An example was Carl Crawford falling in to the stands to make a catch. The Truss Cam followed his whole route to the ball and showed us what it took to make such a spectacular play. However, an important lesson I have learned from our class is that you need to listen to your audience. Learn what they want to see from a game and give it to them. Announcers and analysts are trying to steal the spotlight and it takes away from the pleasure of simply viewing the game. Personally, with all of the technology, there is sometimes nothing better than curling up to watch a great game in the comforts of your home. However, if TBS wants to compete on Sundays with the NFL and get majority ratings, they need to adjust to the wants of their audience. There is nothing better than October baseball. From the first pitch to the last, there is constant focus and intensity from every single player on that field. The game itself is great. That alone can draw viewers in to see what is going in a game out in Los Angeles, or Boston, or even Pittsburgh. However, the analysis makes or breaks the ratings and unfortunately TBS just cannot catch up.

Analysis of why athletes with injuries continue to sit out

From ESPN.com and Fox Sports

Analysis by Nick Toombs in SRM 334 (section 2)

The article that I chose is about Patriots Tight End Rob Gronkowski sitting out. The article is an ESPN piece highlighting player comments saying that they believe Gronkowski has been ready to return for a while. His team feels that he is ready to play but Gronkowski is waiting on clearance from his own independent physician, Dr. James Andrews. Several players are quoted within the article suggesting that Gronkowski appears to be ready to go based upon his performance in practice. There has also been tension between the organization and the player stemming from media coverage of Gronkowski partying with his injured arm during the offseason.

This article was retrieved from ESPN and was written by senior NFL writer Ed Werder. ESPN has had extensive coverage of Rob Gronkowski since he has entered the NFL. ESPN specifically plays a huge role in the types of sports stories that get major attention in sport media and they can influence the public’s perceptions of certain situations. By continually posting stories that suggest a rift between the Patriots organization and Rob Gronkowski, the media can create conflict whether real or perceived. ESPN ‘s reporting on this particular situation has been biased. Since they control most of the sport media market, they can sway public perception based upon their reporting. The article is titled “’Resentment’ toward Rob Gronkowski” which suggests negatively about the Patriots tight end. ESPN largely dictates what will become big news and what will not with every other sport media outlet available because ESPN is the leader in the industry.

This article is an opinion piece written by ESPN. Rob Gronkowski is a polarizing figure in sports, which makes this story necessary to be reported on in ESPN’s eyes. This article relates to this course because it shows how the media affects public perception. ESPN is a major news outlet so when they publish negative stories about a particular individual, the consumer of the information is subconsciously influenced. It is also in the best interest to publish as many stories about Gronkowski as they can because they can determine what becomes “newsworthy.
 
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Analysis by Ayrton Glasper in SRM 334 (section 2)

Recently, the media has brought into the public eye, the questionable injury status of two top football players. Jadeveon Clowney, defensive end for the South Carolina Gamecocks and Rob Gronkowski, tight end for the New England Patriots, have been scrutinized by the media because of their lack of appearance on the playing field. Steven A. Smith, NFL Game Day, ESPN’s Sports Center, and sports magazines across the nation, to name a few, are dissecting under the microscope why these two very talented football players are either sitting on the bench with “injuries” or playing “hard” during practice yet nowhere to be seen on their respective game days. 

Firstly, Jadeveon Clowney a junior at South Carolina University gained instant fame, thanks to the media, with his “perfect hit” in the January, 2013, Outback Bowl. Due to much off-season hype, Clowney was soon reported to be the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy. However, with a slow start to his season, multiple minor injuries, and making the decision to sit himself out of a game, media controversy on this talented footballer snowballed. Many football analysts question whether Clowney does not want to play this year in fear of risking a serious injury as did his teammate last year, Marcus Lattimore. It has been reported that such an injury could not only ruin his chances of getting drafted as a first-round pick but also derail him from a prospective NFL career with a huge contract. We as fans can only wonder how much of what is being reported by the media is true. Is Clowney being selfish by falsifying or exaggerating his injuries and only thinking of his future with the NFL, or are his injuries legitimate?

Secondly, the controversy surrounding Clowney and his “injuries” has been compared of late, to similar questionable behavior from Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots. The “Gronk” as he is known in the sports world, has also been plagued with injuries. Earlier this year, he underwent back and arm surgery causing the media to closely follow and constantly report on his possible return to the football field with the Patriots. To the media’s bafflement, even after hard weekly practices, the Gronk is still absent from the field on game days. Analysts are scrutinizing the reasons behind him not playing. Is this another case of not playing in order to avoid any risk of getting hurt and losing millions? It has been reported that under the Gronk’s $54 million dollar contract extension of 2012 with the Patriots, he could lose a huge chunk of it because of an injury. So could the media be right? Is the Gronk being selfish and delaying his return to playing football because of the contract the millions at stake?The media has brought a significant amount of attention, many would say too much, to both of these talented players by constantly reporting and debating on the reasons behind their lack of playing time on the football field. We the public can only speculate how much of these reports are true. We can only judge from what we read and see from the various videos, interviews, and articles however, at the same time we must also take into account that the media can be bias and have a subjective opinion on the topic/discussion. As far as these two players are concerned, the media appears to portray them as being selfish with underlying monetary reasons behind their so called “injuries.” Fact or fiction? Today, the media is highly advanced and with modern technology and the introduction of “twitter” and mobile “apps” for example, sports media coverage is intensive, fast, and easily accessible. The public now has access within minutes, even seconds, of any breaking news, scores, and all kinds of updates. Through the new communication model the media and fans can relay and respond respectively to all of the latest sports news.

David Price realized Twitter rant was a mistake

From USA Today

Analysis by Courtney Wright in SRM 334 (section 1)

After the frustrating game 2 of the ALDS, David Price took to twitter to let his followers be aware of how he felt. His frustrations stemmed from the TBS commentator’s comments on air and David Ortiz’s reaction to his two homeruns. On national television, TBS commentators Dirk Hayhurst and Tom Verducci said, “This is the playoffs, you can’t take any chances. He was out there past his prime. He should have come out sooner”. Price reacted to the commentators by insulting them and calling them nerds while implying they had never played sports at a higher level. 

After the media took such notice to Price’s rant, he decided to send out an apology to all those who were offended by his words and disappointed with what he said. Along with tweeting an apology, Price reached out in person to the media and to David Ortiz. Ortiz replied with saying how they respect one another as players and that is was “no big deal”. The media made it seem like Price had it out for Ortiz and vice versa, when in reality it was just post-season competition, there were no personal vendettas against each other. 

In light of the media coverage of Price’s twitter rampage, Rays’ GM, Joe Maddon, chimed in with his opinion of setting social media restrictions by stating, “I really hate to try to legislate behavior when it comes to these kinds of moments…David did the right thing after he did the wrong thing”. He does not think it is his place to make such decisions for his athletes and that they must learn from their mistakes and to respect the media. As we have discussed in class, respecting the media is important behavior by professional athletes in our modern day society. Price made it known how sorry he was for his actions and has learned a lesson he will most likely not make again any time soon.

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Analysis by Monica Paolicelli in SRM 334 (section 1)

After David Ortiz, of the Boston Red Sox, hit a homerun and watched it intently from home plate, David Price was furious with his performance throughout the night with a 7-4 loss. He called it a “dark spot in his career” and the TBS commentators could not agree more. Dirk Hayhurst and Tom Verducci commentated this ALDS game 2 and Hayhurst said “Price should have been pulled from the game earlier, you can’t take any chances. He was out there past his prime. He should’ve come out sooner.” Price was extremely embarrassed by this and criticized the TBS broadcast crew as being nerds and water boys during their sports careers. He took to Twitter with this tweet after the game, “Dirk Hayhurst … COULDN'T hack it … Tom Verducci wasn't even a water boy in high school … but they can still bash a player … SAVE IT NERDS” -@DAVIDprice14. Price’s criticisms proved nonsense as Verducci has covered the sport of baseball for decades and Hayhurst made the majors. David Price is saying that only those at or above his talent and accomplishment level have the right to criticize his performance. Do commentators, for any sport, have the right to criticize performance when a professional player is playing badly? I believe that they do have this right to inform the public audience with who is having a record-breaking game and who is having a bad performance that night. Athletes like David Price need to be aware that they are on television with a wide audience and will likely be criticized for performance. The media has the right to produce stories based on performances, even though they have never played professional baseball. This current event is all about respecting social media as well as professional commentators. David Price was angry, took to Twitter, and he definitely learned his lesson. He sent out an apology tweet shortly after explaining how he embarrassed himself, his family, and his organization. General Manager, Joe Maddon commented about installing social media policies throughout the organization with, “I really hate to try to legislate behavior when it comes to these kinds of moments … David did the right thing after he did the wrong thing.” Respecting all the constituents involved in sports media as well as coaches and other players takes a lot of self-control and humbleness. This is rare to find in professional sports where all athletes have stellar backgrounds and multiple honors.

"Will Controversial Sports Team Names Be Gone in Five Years?"

From Adweek

Analysis by Natalie Bernstein in SRM 435 (section 1)

The article we chose to discuss was by Adweek and it was entitled “Will Controversial Sports Team Names Be Gone in Five Years? Prominent Native American Activist Says Yes” by David Gianatasio. In the article, Gianatasio shows how this year’s fight to change the Redskins name has gained a significant amount of momentum. He provides examples of this through quotes from various people who are closely linked to the Redskins name. While most people seem to agree that there needs to be an immediate change, people like Dan Snyder, owner of the Redskins, says he will never change the name.

From a marketing standpoint, this type of rebranding is going to cost a significant amount of money, not to mention the thousands of fans that will be infuriated. The question also arises that if they change the Redskins, a name that has been around for eighty-one years, will people even accept the change? Will they buy the new merchandise? This instantly makes me think of JMU’s Rose Library; the name was changed from east campus a couple years ago and students still refer to it by its old name, and this is just a library. When examining a multi-million dollar organization, changing the name will not solve all of the protestors’ problems. I doubt people will instantly stop referring to their favorite team as the Redskins, and I predict that it is going to be a challenge for several years after the official switch. However, with all of the negative sides to changing the team name, I believe the Redskins don’t have a choice. When broadcasters and other media sources refuse to even speak the team name, you have a major problem. Everyone is focusing more on the racism and less on the sport of football. So hopefully this change will bring people back to what this sport is all about with a politically correct name, that way both sides are happy. 

This topic is relevant to our course because it deals with a sports team who is about to undergo serious rebranding. When the name gets changed, the Redskins are going to have to come up with a completely different marketing strategy in hopes to make the name stick.

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Analysis by Connor Massei in SRM 435 (section 1)

This article questions whether or not the Washington Redskins and other controversial professional sports franchises will change their name within the next five or ten years. The article gives quotes and examples for reasons as to why these franchises will change their names as well as to why they will not. The article explains that with current pressure and support from Native Americans as well as from other groups, these organizations and the Washington Redskins in particular may not be able to resist changing their name in the near future. However, Redskins owner Dan Snyder has been quoted as saying he will never change the team name.

Analyzing this article from a marketing perspective brings up some interesting points. I feel that if the Redskins were to change their name, sales in different departments would, at least initially, decrease. I think fans would shy away from buying new team merchandise because they have previously spent money on merchandise when the team was still referred to as the Redskins. I also believe that ticket sales would initially decrease. I think the organization would lose a substantial amount of supporters because so many people are against a name change. I wouldn’t be surprised if some fans boycotted going to games as long as the Redskins have their new name. It could be difficult to market the franchise as the Washington-anything-other-than Redskins. Redskin fans and NFL fans in general are so used to seeing and hearing the Redskins’ name that it could cause problems for marketing and promotion teams when trying to make a different team name catch on.

This article is relevant to the course because whether or not you think controversial team names should change, it undoubtedly would affect these franchises from a marketing standpoint. They would have to figure out ways to promote the new name, logo, or even fight song. Fans would have to be persuaded to continue to buy game tickets whether they supported the name change or not. Marketing teams would have to use many of the strategies and things learned in class in order to successfully deal with the changing of any professional sports team name.

"NFL playoff expansion would come at a price"

From USA Today

Analysis by Sean Cunningham in SRM 435 (section 1)

The article that James and I did for our presentation talked about the recent owners meetings where the commissioner of the NFL Roger Goodell proposed a plan to expand the NFL postseason from 12 teams to 14 teams. The article was written in USA Today on October 9th and was titled, “NFL Playoff Expansion Would Come at a Price”. The way this expansion would happen is by adding an extra wildcard team to both the NFC and AFC. By doing this it would allow for more meaningful games at the end of the season because more teams will have a chance of making the playoffs. This proposed expansion would be put into place at the earliest for the 2015 NFL season and would eliminate one preseason. Commissioner Roger Goodell believes the NFL is in strongest position it has been in during his 32 years with the NFL, and by expanding the playoffs, would only make it stronger.

In my opinion and coming from a marketing and sales standpoint this is a win, win situation for the NFL as a league and its players. The player’s union was strongly against extending the regular season form 16 games to 18 games so by only expanding the playoffs it seems to be a compromise between both parties. The NFL as a league will gain extra revenue through TV contracts, more fans watching or buying tickets for meaningful games, and more marketing and sponsorship opportunities for the NFL. From the player’s side, every team and player wants to play in the playoffs, so by expanding the playoffs them it only increases those chances of making the playoffs and achieving the ultimate goal of winning a Superbowl. The only cons I can see from expanding the playoffs are that it could increase the risk of injuries, it could create a watered down playoff product by having too many teams, and that if the NFL is the strongest its ever been why mess with it. The NFL playoffs have been set at 12 teams since 1990, which has been the time when the NFL are grown the most so why fix something that has got you to become the most popular sport in our nation. 

This topic is relevant to our Sports Marketing and Sales course because a move like this by the NFL has a ripple effect on the marketing and sales of each individual team, along with the league as a whole. New marketing plans and sponsorship will need to be put in place for the two extra playoff games and the new playoff format. Also, new TV deals will need to be made for the extra games along with having more advertisement space for the NFL to sell. In conclusion, like I said before I believe this is a win, win situation for both the NFL and the players and if it is implemented it could only increase the popularity of the NFL, not hurt it.

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Analysis by James Daniel in SRM 435 (section 1)

NFL owners are always looking for ways not only to expand its product (generate more revenue, increase marketability, etc...). As Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said, “They can find another way to grow the pie.” Which brings us to the NFL’s proposal to expand the NFL playoffs from 12 teams (six per conference) to 14 teams (seven per conference). The expansion in terms of logistics would create only one means for a 1st round bye, win the number one overall seed. The league sees this as a tool to generate more revenue of course through more games competitive and meaningful games being shown towards the season’s end. A huge part of the league's toolbox to generate more from its deals with television networks is its ability to use flex scheduling. Flex scheduling allows NBC (the network that hosts NFL Sunday Night Football) starting week 11 to the end of the regular season, to select a different game from its regularly scheduled contest to broadcast. It is used to bump less relevant games in favor of games with playoff implications. This of course generates a good portion of money from network deals due to the fact that highly competitive games will be aired in primetime, when everyone watches. Fox & CBS however do have protected games that cannot be flex scheduled and there are regulations behind how many times a team can be on primetime games, a small form of revenue sharing. Another aspect of scheduling would be whether the games in the opening round would be a three-three format or a two-two-two format. Essentially, the league would have to decide whether to broadcast triple header on Saturday & Sunday of wild card weekend or to air two games on a Friday evening. 

Another aspect of the proposal would be a removal of preseason games (one) in favor of the expanded postseason. Players are not a fan of this as it cuts the offseason calendar, which was altered by the league under the new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) to limit player injuries before the start of regular season action, an effort to protect a better product. Also, they believe it will dilute the quality that the playoffs bring by having average or subpar to making the playoffs, which could back fire it such were to happen. Roger Goodell has been on record saying that the quality of preseason games is not up to league standards. Of course, NFL teams normally do not play their starters in the final preseason contest. The expansion would not take place before the 2015 NFL season so it has time to further evaluate. It is seen as a compromise as the NFLPA shutdown the idea of an 18 game regular season schedule. At the beginning, the expansion would without a doubt, reap rewards from where it currently is. The question is in the long run, how will this pan out for the NFL.

University of Louisville's Sport Administration Program Open House

The Sport Administration program at the University of Louisville would like to invite prospective master's students to attend an Open House on November 1, 2013, from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm.

The Open House will take place virtually via Google+ Hangout. Students can attend simply by signing into the hangout using their Google+ ID. The event schedule is below:

Open House Itinerary

11:00               Welcome and introductions

11:10               Program overview - curriculum, application process, Q&A

11:40               Open discussion with current students

12:00               Adjourn

Interested students should complete the registration form through the website link below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/13cJ_jhJqQaKTHyCWd880rwW7O9S6zAk9An05-lCFtbQ/viewform

This will be a great opportunity for interested prospective students to learn about our program.

Internship Opportunity: First Tee Harrisonburg

JMU Students,

Looking for an internship or practicum opportunity? Love working with kids? The First Tee of Harrisonburg, a youth development organization is happy to be accepting internship and practicum students. We teach our participants nine core values from honesty to sportsmanship and use the game of golf to teach character development. Through our program young people discover how skills essential to success on the golf course can also help them flourish in life. We are looking for candidates who are motivated, dependable and who are interested in working with children, writing grants, working on the webpage and doing research. If you are interested in working with the First Tee of Harrisonburg please contact Randy Combs or Daniel Allen.

Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you!

Daniel Allen
First Tee of Harrisonburg
Interim Executive Director
Office (540) 437-4239
thefirstteeharisonburg@gmail.com

www.thefirstteeharrisonburg.org

PBEO Job Fair

The Professional Baseball Employment Opportunities (PBEO) Job Fair will be held at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Fla., from December 8-11, 2013. The Job Fair is an annual feature of the Baseball Winter Meetings. This is a great opportunity to meet with representatives from professional teams, interview on-site and choose from a variety of positions.

Get in on the ground floor and build your future by attending baseball's most popular meeting and seminar to find YOUR job in professional baseball.

The PBEO Job Fair provides registrants a look at the business of professional baseball, as well as an excellent opportunity to find employment. On average, 450-550 jobs are posted annually at the Job Fair.

Click here or visit the PBEO website for more details.

Performance enhancing drugs in professional sports and the media implications

From SBNation.com and ESPN.com

Analysis by Chris Huffman in SRM 334 (section 2)

For our current event we decided to talk about athletes using steroids; mostly about baseball players using them. Steroids have been a highly talked about subject in the MLB because of various reasons. Players feel that they are too small or do not have the natural athletic ability to compete with the top players in baseball today. 

Two of the most recent baseball players that have been caught using steroids are Yankees third basemen, Alex Rodriguez, and the Brewers leftfielder, Ryan Braun. Both started out denying they had ever used steroids or any illegal substances that are banned by the MLB. Later both of them were found guilty and faced suspensions during the season this year.

I believe that our media portrays both of them as lying and cheating the game of baseball because they both denied using illegal substances by the MLB and were later found guilty. I think that if they would have came clean at the beginning then it would not have blown up like it did. People would have been more forgiving about the mistakes they both have made and might of gotten off with a lighter suspension as well.

This article is relevant to the course because of how it was all over sports center as well as twitter too. Many people voiced their opinions about the suspensions and about how they felt about them taking banned substances. In the video on youtube the woman reporter talks about how parents are tired of worrying about their kids being introduced to things like this. They believe that their children are going to start thinking they have to take substances in order to receive a college scholarship or in order to make it professionally in sports, which scares the parents because of the harm it can do to their children’s body.I believe if the MLB and all leagues around the world made a stricter policy, for example, instead of giving athletes three chances, they should only give them one or two at the most. I believe this because it is taking away the integrity of the game and eventually people are going to get so tired of it they will stop watching sports because they will believe it has become a scam. 

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Analysis by Titus Till in SRM 334 (section 2)

Steroid use by professional athletes has been an issue within professional sports leagues such as the MLB and NFL. This problem has tarnished the names of some of the most decorated athletes in recent years. Particularly, one of the most recent cases is the scandal that the New York Yankees all-star, Alex Rodriguez, is involved in. A-rod is currently in the process of appealing his 211-game suspension that resulted from his alleged involvement with the anti-aging clinic Biogenesis. Another similar case involves the Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun who recently was suspended for the remainder of the season without pay. The suspension will withhold Braun from 65 games and it is estimated that he will lose $3.25 million as a result. 

The use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs within professional baseball may have been a life saver for the MLB. Before the steroids era, baseball was losing fans at a rapid pace and the league was close to being extinct. When big names such as Mark Mcwire and Sammy Sosa came along and began to put up outstanding numbers and perform above and beyond the expectations of a professional athletes fans began to come back to baseball and sell out stadiums to watch these amazing athletes to perform. After many years of excelling in hitting home-runs, these players were found to be guilty of using steroids. This brought so much media attention to this problem and since then, reporters cannot wait to get their hands on a juicy story such as the Alex Rodriquez or Ryan Braun situation.

In the NFL, there are not as many cases around the league where you will find players using performance enhancing drugs or steroids but that does not mean they aren’t out there. The NFL has a policy that gives a 30 day suspension for the first offense of banned substances and a 1-year suspension for the second offense. The third offense is unknown due to the fact that no one has ever failed 3 drug test in the NFL. This is an issue that is relevant to this course because it is a very scandalous and news-worthy story when a professional athlete caught using performance enhancing drugs. The media has used this issue to bring the MLB back to life after almost going into extinction. Athletes that have used steroids in the past were able to do things unfathomable to the rest of the world and they may not have been able to do it without steroids.