The Golden Age

Times certainly have changed since Frank Deford was hired onto the Sports Illustrated writing staff. Deford began writing for SI in 1962, and is a senior contributing writer for the publication today. As he explains in his article Sometimes the Bear Eats You published in the March 29th 2010 Sports Illustrated, at the time he was hired into the world of sports journalism it was dominated by white old men. There was no Internet, no Google, and no light weight laptops. Deford traveled a lot as a budding sports writer. He writes about what it was like when he was trying to recap a game back when stories were typed up on a typewriter,

“Then, after the game you'd go back to your hotel room and type out your piece. Typewriters were loud, especially when everyone else was trying to sleep. Sometimes the poor people in the next room would bang on my wall, or they'd get the front desk to call me. I'd go into the bathroom and turn on the shower to mask the sound of my typing on the floor. This was not conducive to inspired prose.”

But he found a way to finish his stories under these circumstances, and made a name for himself. He went from being “The Kid” to a well-seasoned sports reporter.

Things were different back when Deford had the chance to flourish in the time he called the “Golden Age of Writing About Sports.” There is a high chance that our generation will get to experience a Golden Age such as this, and the two reasons are simple.

1 – More education

Going on to receive a college education is becoming more common for high school students. And even graduate level schools are seeing an increase in applications/graduates. This level of education is producing better writers and journalists equipped with more knowledge and ability to produce good stories.

2 – Bad economy

One good thing from the bad economy will be the better quality work being produced. The decrease in job openings will result in more applicants applying to be hired. The people that are hired will (hopefully) have been picked because they are the best. Therefore, only the best will be published.

These reasons may not be beneficial for an up and coming journalist such as myself, but if my skills prove to be the cream of the crop then I will reap great rewards.  

Braves Coverage

The Atlanta Braves are 11-6 so far in pre-season. Their first game of the regular season will be on April 5th versus the Cubs. With the season starting up soon, MLB coverage across the nation has picked up quite a bit. (still shadowed by March Madness of course)

Most of the local coverage I found on the Braves was in a paper based in Georgia called the Ledger-Enquirer, part of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.  

On March 16th, former Braves pitcher John Smoltz declared that he will be working on TBS and Braves’ games on Peachtree TV in Atlanta as an announcer. Also, he’ll announce games on the MLB Network starting on April 5.

I came across two stories about the same thing, one on a national level, published by an AP writer, and then on from the AJC Ledger-Enquirer.

The first sentence of the AP story:

John Smoltz is embarking on a career as an analyst for Turner Broadcasting and the MLB Network, although he’s not quite ready to say he’s thrown his final major league pitch.

First sentence of the AJC story:

For his 22nd season in Major League Baseball, John Smoltz is headed to the Braves' broadcast booth -- but that doesn't mean he's retired from the game.

The national article by AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum was more about his career and what he has done to lead him to this point in his life. He was quoted saying, “When I walk from the game, there won’t be a tear, a regret, there won’t be any of that.”

The local story published at AJC focused more on how excited he is to come to the Braves and how it’s a great opportunity for him because he is where he belongs. "It's the best of both worlds," Smoltz told the AJC. "I"m thrilled. I couldn't even mastermind such a great opportunity."

Friday’s game against the Detroit Tigers ended in a tie, 4 – 4. The recap story published on ESPN was long and detailed. It included the stats and play-by-plays, and discussed players from both teams. 

The recap story on AJC was short and not very specific. It lacked quotes and human interest, and if you wanted to know more you would have to go search for more information on a national level!

Then there are some local stories that didn’t even make their way into the national light. On March 17th there was a story in the Ledger-Enquirer titled Atlanta Braves offering plenty of "value" seats this season. 

The article explains to Braves fans all the deals they can snag at the stadium. It tells readers when Ultimate Kid Days are, and what exactly you can get in The Chevron Family Value Plan and how much they cost. And another article on AJV titled Put on your dancing shoes for Salsa Fest Atlanta is about the first annual Salsa Fest at Turner Field coming up on March 28th. 

It seems that the local coverage was more concerned with the small stories, and didn’t try to tackle the bigger game stories. Perhaps the smaller publications just leave that up to the national level coverage, and don’t bother trying. The local papers hook people in with the local flavor. They included small-scale stories that basically only apply to the people in the area, or fans. The local papers also know that sports fans don’t just stick to one outlet for sports, and they aren’t trying to out-shine ESPN. The small publications have a niche and they fill it perfectly by not trying to stretch to thin.

(Photos Courtesy MLB.com)

Emerson College Feature Athlete: Lauren Zaniboni

Over her past two years at Emerson College, dual sport athlete Lauren Zaniboni has earned a variety of awards and honors for her achievements both on and off the volleyball and basketball court. 
In both sports, each focused on some type of net, Zaniboni is versatile and taller than most opponents. Standing at 6'2" the junior from San Diego, California transferred from Division I North Carolina State University to Emerson as a sophomore. She immediately began making a name for herself, winning a number of "Rookie of the Week" titles in both her volleyball season and then in her basketball season as well. 


Focusing on her basketball career at Emerson, Zaniboni was recently named to the ESPN: The Magazine Academic All-District team for both her athletic and academic success. The award listed Zaniboni as a selection to the third team in District I, an area that includes New England, New York and parts of Canada.


So what exactly makes Lauren Zaniboni worthy of this award?

Zaniboni, a Dean’s List student, is the Lions’ second leading scorer and top rebounder. In 2009-2010 she scored in double figures in both points and rebounds nine times in the team’s 20 games. Zaniboni was ranked 4th in the league for scoring, with 374 points, averaging 14.4 points per game. The 6'2'' center also is 5th in rebounds (9.8), 2nd in field goal percentage (.506), 3rd in blocked shots (1.9), 14th in offensive rebounds (2.8), and 2nd in defensive rebounds (7.1).


Kristen Parnell, Emerson Director of athletics, was not surprised to learn that Zaniboni had been honored.


"Lauren is a model Division III player at balancing both academics and sports," said Parnell. "It's accolades like this that improve not only the team but also up the talent level through all sports."


Women's Basketball Head Coach William Gould explains that athletes like Zaniboni help shape the reputation of Emerson College's sports programs.

"I think Emerson has always been known for their academic prowess," Coach said. "But with Lauren winning awards like this we are now proving ourselves as a pretty damn good school when it comes to athletics as well."


And this wasn't even Zaniboni's first national recognition. Last fall she was honored with the same award for her contribution to the Emerson volleyball team, as she led the team to win the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship.


Last year Zaniboni was also named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year in 2008-2009, and was a first team all-conference selection. By earning the Academic All-District selection in volleyball in the fall of 2009, Zaniboni became the first Emerson College student-athlete to receive the honor in multiple sports.


But Zaniboni doesn't harp on the awards she receives, which makes her that much more deserving. She says her main focus is just to enjoy every second she has the opportunity to play college sports.
She said, "Not everyone gets the chance to play college sports and be a part of a team. I just love being part of a team and seeing our collective hard work pay off. There's nothing better." 


Being from sunny California, life on the East coast is a bit different, but Zaniboni says she doesn't mind. 


"I knew what I was getting myself into when I came to Boston. I don't mind the cold at all."


But there is one thing she misses about California. She explained, "I miss the frozen yogurt from Yogurtland. Strawberry 'fro-yo' is my favorite. I could go for some right now."

Next year will be Zaniboni's last year playing college sports, and although she appreciates being recognized for her hard work, she plays for the team comradery and her love for the games. 

Talking with Friars Coach Keno Davis

The month of February has not been the best for the Friars.

Providence College men's basketball head coach Keno Davis sat down with John Rooke to discuss what the Friars have to do to turn around their 8 game losing streak and how he plans to build the team to be strong enough to compete in the NCAA tournament. 

On February 2nd, the Friars took on currently ranked number 1 Syracuse. PC was only down by three at halftime, but Syracuse opened the second half with a 27-7 Syracuse run and the Friars couldn't get closer than 14 points for the rest of the game.

Davis tried to pin point just what let the game slip away. Perhaps it was that Syracuse went 32 for 38 from the free throw line, while Providence shot a low 11 for 22. 

Davis claimed that Dominque Jones is possibly the best player in the Big East, and although PC did a great job of locking up his three point shots, Jones still found a way to the free throw line 16 times, and really hurt the Friars. 

Davis explained the importance of a go-to guy for big games in the Big East, especially in Providence's most recent loss to USF on February 27th. 

He said, "What South Florida has and why they've been able to have some level of success this year is that they have a pro, and when you know who your go-to guy is ... how many games come down to the last 2 or 3 minutes? Quite a few. And so in the last three minutes, they're going to him, there's no question. When the last three minutes come for us, we don't have a go-to guy right now."

The Friar's have their final two regular season games coming up against Pittsburgh and then Seton Hall, but Davis has his focus on the long term as well. 

He shared his concerns with recruiting and finding the right student-athletes to come to Providence College. He said "Once we get to the NCAA tournament it can't be a one year shot and then we are back to trying to rebuild... we have to build it on a good base so we're able to compete each and every year."

But Davis doesn't look for role players. He wants well rounded players to fit different positions. "I'm looking for players that are versatile, I don't want a one dimensional player... I don't want a specialist."

So hopefully over the course of the next few games, someone on the Providence team will be able to step up and out of their role, and act as the much needed go-to player in their upcoming games before the season comes to an end. 

(Photos from Friars.com)

Superman Rivalry

In their third meeting this season, the Orlando Magic finally took care of business and beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 101 to 95. The game on Sunday February 21st at 1 pm was commentated by Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy. 

One of the main topics that the announcers focused on was the recent NBA trades. 

I knew about the rumors that LeBron might be thinking about going to the Knicks next year, but by watching this game and listening to the announcers I learned a bit more about the evidence that would prove these rumors true. 

General manager Donnie Walsh took over the New York Knicks in 2007. Since then it appears he has been trying to clear cap space for the 2010 off-season. They explained that the reason they wanted this monetary flexibility is because the 2010 off-season features superstars like Cavaliers forward LeBron James, Raptors forward Chris Bosh and Heat guard Dwayne Wade. 

New York made a few adjustments to their roster. They traded Jared Jeffries and Jordan Hill for Houston’s Tracy McGrady, and traded Nate Robinson and Marcus Landry to Boston for Eddie House, J.R. Giddens, and Bill Walker.

These trades cleared an additional $9 million in the Knicks’ salary cap space, bringing their total salary cap space for 2010 to somewhere between $31 to $32 million. This could actually allow the Knicks to sign not just one big time free agent, but two. 

Throughout the game the announcers did I nice job of explaining all of this to the viewer. Before watching the game I knew that there were rumors about LeBron going to the Knicks. In fact, my parents are good friends with Coach D’Antoni. We live in the same town and my younger brother is his son’s friend. I always try to get information out of DAntoni, and I do know he is very interested in getting LeBron, but that’s not new or shocking information. 

By providing this information the announcers added to the game and made it more interesting. Along the same topic of trades they discussed how the Cavaliers just acquired Antawn Jamison. They were talking about what kind of player he is and the strengths he has to offer. He has the ability to post up and be a strong presence in the paint, but he can spot up and shoot the three as well.

I follow basketball so I know why his versatility is valuable, however they still explained to the viewers how he continue to fit into the team’s dynamics very well. 

And of course the announcers talked about the “Superman Rivalry.” Before the game I did not know that Shaquille O'Neal had called out Magic’s Dwight Howard just a few days ago for calling himself Superman. Everybody knows Shaq is Superman! Hasn’t Dwight seen MTV Cribs? Shaq sleeps in a round bed with a huge superman logo on the comforter. 

The announcing of the game’s play by play was standard. They followed the action and kept the viewer in tune with what was going on. They didn’t give the time and score too often, but I could just see it on the screen.

If I had announced this game I definitely would not have done as good of a job. These guys knew what they were talking about but didn’t talk over anyone’s head. Sometimes when someone has so much knowledge about the game, it is hard to speak to such a wide audience. Jargon and names come so easily to the knowledgeable, however in this situation, the announcer must make sure he or she is putting things in layman’s terms. Breen, Jackson, and Van Gundy did an excellent job of keeping the viewers informed. The way the announced definitely added a much-appreciated facet to the game.

(Photos by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)

Sexy Superstar Athletes

Introduced to the Olympic Games in 1924, speed skating can be traced back to England in the mid-18th century. Even before that, the sport's birthplace is most often considered to be the Netherlands, where skating was actually a common mode of transportation.

Today, speed skating is ranked fifth on YourTango.com Top 5 Surprisingly Sexy Winter Olympic Sports. 

Not only is it sexy, it is extremely difficult. On curves, the skater is constantly being pushed outward by a centrifugal force of 60 kg in the inner lane, 52 kg in the outer. In order to counteract this force the skaters must lean 45° when in the inner lane and 49° in the outer! 

The two racers skate counter-clockwise around a 400-meter oval ice rink changing lanes once per lap, to equalize the distance covered. Skaters can get up to 35 miles per hour. 

The 12 separate speed skating events will span over the course of 2 weeks. 

So far, the Netherlands has done their part to make the sport sexy. Sven Kramer was favored to win the 5000m, and that’s just what he did. In the 2006 games, he took silver in the 5000m race, but worked his way up to a gold in this year’s Olympics. He is also favored to win the 10,000m race on Tuesday, February 23rd. 

Kramer is a celebrity in the Netherlands, where speed skating is extremely popular. In his native country he is known as the "ambassador of bread." He is actually the spokesman for an anti-junk food campaign to encourage Dutch children to eat more bread, instead of junk food. An awesome athlete who cares about kids… how sexy is that?

Another sport on the top sexy Olympic sports is freestyle skiing. The act of skiing is pretty hot, but are some of the athletes acting a little too sexy? The top American Alpine Skier was recently featured on the front cover of Sports Illustrated, and blogger Nicole LaVoi claims that the photo on the cover is just another example of women being “sexualized” in the media. 

Go to your local newsstand and take a peek at the cover. You may be surprised that someone even thought to call this picture “sexy.” While Vonn looks excellent, she doesn’t exactly fulfill my idea of Sports Illustrated “sexy.”

But the comments on LaVoi’s blog got out of hand! People were attacking her instead of trying to explain why they thought she was wrong. LaVoi made some valid points. She explained:

“Over the last 60 years researchers have shown that about 4% of all SI covers have portrayed women.

When females are featured on the cover of SI, they are more likely than not to be in sexualized poses and not in action–and the most recent Vonn cover is no exception.”

This might all be true. However, people are still entitled to their opinion. Perhaps the media is just using Vonn as “the likely poster girl of the US Olympic Team” because she “represents the “norm of feminine attractiveness,” but is that the worst thing that could happen? People like to look at things that are nice to look at. Oh, and along with her good looks, she also offers her ability to win gold medals for the USA. 

Apolo Ohno has a similar affect in the media. Every country has those celebrity athletes that people like to follow and enjoy to cheer for, like bread man Sven Kramer in the Netherlands. Apolo appears to be calm, humble, and attractive! The media is not just covering the Olympic games to inform the world of what’s going on. There are profits involved. Covering the Olympics is all about info-tainment. There are so many back-stories, interesting twists and exciting competition! It’s a gold mine (no pun intended).

In an article by Jonathan Mathis he writes, 

“Girls are attracted to sporting figures, but even more so to Ohno. It seems the kid is hip and sexy enough to make them scream and cheer. Ohno has a certain sex appeal to fans that often overshadow his achievements.”

But that’s just the risk that these athletes run by putting themselves in the lime light. During the Olympics each country wants their own athletes to win. But sometimes it is just about how sexy the sport or the athlete competing is. 

Here is a list of the top five most intriguing athletes to watch this Olympics, according to the students over at Tufts University. 

Vonn and Ohno both made the cut. Also on the list are speedskaters Shani Davis and Katherine Reutter, and snowboarder Shaun White. 

February 8th Compare Articles

Two articles about the same game can be very different, and can clearly demonstrate the way writing styles can affect an article. 

They can also show the difference in the style based on where the article is being published. 

There are several articles about the UConn victory over Louisville on February 7th. ESPN and the Hartford Courant published the articles I chose to focus on. Right from the get go the reader can see the difference between these two articles. 

ESPN: No. 1 UConn Tops Louisville Again, 84-38: Title game rematch proves mismatch as No. 1 UConn tops Louisville, 84-38 by Associated Press Writer Jeffrey McMurray 

Lead: “Tina Charles had 20 points and nine rebounds as No. 1 Connecticut breezed by Louisville 84-38 Sunday in a rematch of last year's national championship game.”

The Hartford Courant: UConn Women Crush Louisville; Streak At 62 by John Altavilla 

Lead: “By now it's clear the UConn women do not play normal games that follow familiar scripts. Truth is, they play games that are caricatures, the features super-sized, exaggerated, larger-than-life. You almost need 3-D glasses to watch them play.”

The ESPN article gets straight down to facts, and the entire article follows suit. On the other hand, the Hartford Courant’s article is more opinion based, and evokes emotion from the reader. The ESPN article was written with the intention of being able to be published all over the nation, while the Courant article is more localized. Hartford is the capital of the state of Connecticut, and if you’ve even been in Connecticut when a UConn basketball game is going on then you know that the amount of Husky pride is overwhelming. So it is not surprising that Altavilla goes ahead and claims that his Huskies play “larger-than-life.” 

The ESPN article informs its readers much quicker than the Courant’s article. It follows more of an upside down pyramid outline, including the information and facts at the top, and going on to expand on the background and minor details about stats and significance of records and standings. 

The second sentence of the ESPN article: “The victory was UConn's 62nd in a row, extending the second-longest streak ever in women's NCAA Division I basketball, trailing only the 2001-03 Huskies' mark of 70 straight.”

This information did not come out until the seventh sentence in the Courant article. However, what the Courant article had that the ESPN article lacked was quotes from the players and coaching staff. Including quotes made the story more personal and more of a human-interest story. The people in Connecticut want to feel connected to the team, and they feel like they are part of the franchise. The readers in Hartford and around UConn want to know what the players and coaches feel and think, because they want to feel with them. 

The ESPN article is not meant to entertain or stir up some laughter or emotion from the reader. Instead it is meant to stay neutral and inform the reader about the game. Of course the Courant article has all the same information in it, but the author of the article is clearly proud of his Connecticut team. 

When explaining the difference between this year’s and last year;s Louisville team, Altavilla wrote: “This time, there was no Angel McCoughtry, no Candyce Bingham and no Deseree Byrd. Oh yes, this time things were very different.” The article doesn’t go into much more detail about the Lousiville team while AP’s McMurray expands on the details a bit more. He wrote 3 paragraphs explaining how the Cardinal’s McCoughtry graduated to the WNBA last year, and how injuries have affected several other key players.  

The photo slideshow feature on the Courant’s website was a great supplement to the story. These women can jump!

ESPN's Page2 Bill Simmons Sports Guy

Formerly known as "The Boston Sports Guy" Bill Simmons is a sports columnist for Page2 on ESPN.com. He has dropped the "Boston" and is now known as "The Sports Guy." He is also very funny. 

In his article titled Revisiting Level 1: Consider these teams officially tortured, Simmons goes through and ranks the fifteen sports teams that are currently eligible for a Level 1 defeat. 

He explains levels of defeats in a previous article he wrote titled Welcome to the Levels of Losing 2.0, which he links to in this most recent article. 

In this article he corrects some mistakes that he feels he made in his other article. His writing is very clever, at one point he says, " Limiting Level 1 to the Red Sox was purely an only-child, everything-revolves-around-me decision." This of course referring to his primary interest being in Boston sports. 

Simmons lists and explains the six variables that allows a fan to be considered fully tortured. Then he goes through the 15 most tortured teams. 

His witty tone can actually make readers LOL. The article is organized really well and he is able to tie in the first few lines with the last few lines. He scatters funny references to non-sports topics that people can relate to. For example, he wrote, "Cold weather and losing go together as easily as John Travolta and horrendous haircuts." 

In addition to his humorous writing, he knows a lot of information. He has an example for every scenario he mentions. He uses funny letters from readers that are suffering with their team's defeat. 

His 6 factors that allow you to be considered completely tortured:

1. You need at least a 35-year drought without a title.

2. That 35-year rule doesn't apply to relocations.

3. During that 35-plus years without a title, it's not enough to lose. You need to have your guts wrenched a few times.

4. Only teams in cold-weather cities are eligible for Level 1 unless the situation is so cruel/unusual/unforgiving that it's practically unprecedented.

5. You need to be just pessimistic enough to keep your guard up for a sucker punch but just optimistic enough to keep lowering your guard at the worst possible time.

6. Outsiders need to instinctively empathize during a Level 1 takedown.

The top (or bottom) 15 teams that are actually eligible for a Level 1 defeat.

14-15. Seattle Mariners/Seahawks

13. Portland Trail Blazers

12. Philadelphia Eagles

11. NY Jets

10. Cleveland Cavaliers

9. Buffalo Sabres

8. New York Knickerbockers

7. Toronto Maple Leafs

6. San Francisco Giants

5. Cleveland Indians

4. Cleveland Browns

3. Buffalo Bills

2. Minnesota Vikings

1. Chicago Cubs

To wrap up the article he shared a final email from yet another suffering Vikings fan. He reassured Patrick from Albany, and all sports fans that "No, being a sports fan isn't just masochism with commercials. Yes, the misery and despair will be worth it some day. Keep the faith."