Jonnie Motomochi-99 Red Pucks

It's All About Twitter

2011-04-18T15:09:00.000-07:00

Facebook. Myspace. Any instant messaging. Social networking is the craze worldwide. How many times do you go on Facebook throughout the day? Once? Twice? Ten times? It's okay, there are thousands around campus on Facebook at the same time you are.

Twitter, however, is a journalist's dream, more specifically a sports journalist's dream. If you have a Twitter account, you know what I am talking about. Along with Facebook, it is one of the most addicting social networking sites.

It is updated all the time. Every minute there is one, two or more tweets a person can read, depending on how many people you follow. I follow over 400 people including sports writers, friends, sports leagues, teams and athletes, coaches, magazines, newspapers and breaking news. I will never have a dull moment on Twitter.

You can follow some of the most famous people in the world. For example, Barack Obama is on Twitter. Other examples are Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey, Diddy, Al Gore, Ashton Kutcher, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Shaquille O'Neal and yes, Charlie Sheen. Sheen has created a trending topic on Twitter saying "#winning" after almost every tweet. He is a Twitter phenomenon.

Sports journalists use Twitter like no other people use it. I have been following No. 3 Oregon State baseball (@Beaver_Baseball), Oregon State softball (@OregonStateSB), No. 4 Oregon State gymnastics (@OregonStateGym) and all Oregon State athletics (@beaverathletics) all on Twitter. What can get better than that?

You don't need to read or watch the news anymore. Heck, if you don't want to see the highlights of sports games and just want to see the score, you don't need anything else besides Twitter. Do you want to know what your favorite Oregon State athletes are doing? You don't need to follow them around campus, you just need to follow them on Twitter.

Stephen Paea, James Rodgers, Ryan Katz, Carter Bell, Jared Cunningham, Leslie Mak and Olivia Vivian are all on Twitter.

Do I need to tell you any other great things about Twitter?

I almost forgot the best thing about Twitter: a person can only use 140 characters to share his or her news. You don't have to read a full article, like this one, to know what is happening in the world.

The world heard about US Airways Flight 1549 landing in the Hudson River by none other than a simple picture on Twitter.

Oh yeah, there are pictures too.

People think that it is just a whole bunch of Facebook statuses and nothing else, but those people are wrong. One can learn a lot about a person, an event and any news possible through Twitter.

Robert Scoble, a blogger for The New York Times, said it best: "Twitter lets me hear from a lot of different people in a very short period of time."

Laura McCandlish

2011-03-09T05:35:00.000-08:00

A journeywoman who has been from Virginia to Baltimore to Corvallis to chase her dream of being a journalist.

Laura McCandlish talked to a reporting class at Oregon State University, Wednesday night, to discuss how she got into journalism and how important blogs are to her success.

“I knew I needed to start a blog,” McCandlish said. “I needed to get my foot in and fall back on it when need be.”

McCandlish offered her advice on how the audience could improve their writing and journalistic techniques. Some of her advice was to keep blogging, do not emulate other people’s career paths, get your name out there by social networking and when you blog, choose a specific topic you can be an expert in. For example, McCandlish was interested by the food here on the west coast and in Oregon, so she decided to focus her topic on food. Because of the blog, she has landed a radio show on KBOO in Portland.

McCandlish also asked the audience what they thought about one of her blog posts. She wanted to pitch it to NPR.org (National Public Radio) and McCandlish asked how she should pitch it. She was writing notes down when the audience answered.

A local shoe store, which is booming with their very small shoe soles, brings their families into the store, even their babies. There were a few ideas that she liked, which were unique to Oregon, but the family pitch stood out to the audience. The audience agreed that NPR would like that idea the best.

McCandlish kept giving the audience advice on how to blog and how to get your product and your name out there to the world. Blogging was her main emphasis, along with getting to know as many types of media you can.

“It is important to learn many different types of media,” she said. “Journalism is very unpredictable right now.”

Matt Neznanski

2011-02-28T01:14:00.000-08:00

Matt Neznanski is the Director of Communications at Brass Media here in Corvallis, OR. Brass Media is a “socially driven media and technology company dedicated to helping young adults better understand money,” according to their website. Neznanski dropped by our reporting class Wednesday night to talk about social networking, his job and his background in the media world along with any questions our class had for him.

Earlier in his career, Neznanski worked in the news room and he first talked to us about having the chance to interview the 44th president of the United States, President Barack Obama, when he was in Oregon. Somebody in the news room asked him if he wanted to interview the president, and he said sure.

Neznanski is also all about Twitter. Twitter was the theme behind most of his talk Wednesday night and I agreed with what he had to say about it. He gets most of his news from Twitter, and he gets the rest of his news from other internet sites as well.

“You got to start a Twitter account,” Neznanski said. “Use all the tools you can.”

He talked about newschallenge.org as well. “The Knight News Challenge is a media innovation contest that aims to advance the future of news by funding new ways to digitally inform communities,” the website said. And its slogan is: “You invent it. We fund it.” The last four winners of this contest have been everyblock.com, spot.us, ushahidi.com and localwiki.org, with all the websites succeeding and doing well. If you have an idea, sent it to these guys and make some cash, Neznanski said.

Most of his talk was about social networking, blogging and being a journalist in general. He talked about how Twitter is more public than the internet and that micro blogging is not going anywhere anytime soon. He left us with a quote that hit me and stuck with me: “I think it’s a fantastic time to be a journalist,” he said. Neznanski attributed this to the quickness of the internet and that there are now so many different ways to be a journalist. It is not just newspaper articles anymore.

However, he will be the first to point out that “online journalism isn’t different from any other kind of journalism,” referring to the research you have to do to write.

Follow him on Twitter @mneznanski.

An Outdoor Game and a Trade Deadline

2011-02-22T22:10:00.000-08:00

Yes, in fact, there was another outdoor hockey game this week and for the second time in its history, it was called the NHL Tim Hortons Heritage Classic. It seems to me that there is the NHL Winter Classic, which is played on New Year's Day, where two American teams play in the United States and the NHL Tim Hortons Heritage Classic where two Canadian teams play on Canadian soil. The first Heritage Classic was in 2003 between the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

This year, the game took place this past Sunday at McMahon Stadium in Calgary between the Calgary Flames and again, the Montreal Canadiens. (Canadiens is spelled that way because that is the french spelling.) 41,022 were in attendance to watch a rather lackluster score of 4-0 for the Flames. The wind chill at game time was -5 degrees Fahrenheit, according to a video on Pierre Lebrun's blog. Lebrun also said that "the event once again rocked even if the actual game didn't, and the NHL has patented that familiar script with yet another hugely successful outdoor foray."

Mikka Kiprusoff got the shutout, saving all 39 shots he faced. It was the first shutout in the history of outdoor games and 39 saves is a new record in outdoor games.

Other records were broken. "The game set several records, including most shots by a player (Bourque, 11), saves by a goalie (39, Kiprusoff), and shots by a team in a period (21,Montreal), which broke the record set just a period earlier by Calgary," said Shawn Roarke, NHL.com Senior Managing Editor.

It is that time again, the trade deadline, where teams either stack up for the playoff run, trade players to get rid of player's salaries or trade for the future. Trades have already happened this week with 10 separate trades. The biggest one involved stud Czech defencemen Tomas Kaberle moving from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Joe Colborne a first round draft pick and a second round draft pick.

The actual trade deadline is this coming Monday so get on your Twitter account or check out Trade Tracker on tsn.ca to find out who is going where and at what cost.

Islanders vs. Penguins

2011-02-16T13:41:00.000-08:00

It was an eventful week with one game that blew away all the other ones: the New York Islanders vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins from Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island.
The game, played on Friday, had one of the most penalty minutes ever in one game, 346. There were 15 players who had fighting penalties, combining for 75 penalty minutes and Brent Johnson, the goalie for the Penguins who fought Rick DiPietro last week, fought again against Michael Haley this game.
This fiasco happened because last week when Johnson and DiPietro fought, Johnson dropped DiPietro and broke bones in his face. The Islanders were mad about this and it led to the game Friday, a 9-3 beating by the Islanders.
Suspensions from the game were very harsh, however. “Eric Godard drew an automatic 10-game suspension under Rule 70.11 for coming off the bench to become involved in a third-period fight after New York's Michael Haley squared off with Penguins goaltender Brent Johnson. Godard received a double minor for roughing and a double game misconduct,” said NHL.com. Also, “Trevor Gillies was suspended for leveling Pittsburgh's Eric Tangradi with an elbow and throwing several punches to his head in an incident that led to the Haley-Johnson fight, earning a major penalty and a game misconduct. Tangradi left the game with concussion symptoms,” and “Matt Martin drew a four-game suspension.”
Godard, Gillies, and Martin also lost money due to their suspensions. Godard will lose over $40,000, Gillies will lose over $24,000, and Martin will lose over $41,000, according to NHL.com. In addition, the Islanders were fined $100,000 for their actions.
"The Islanders also must bear some responsibility for their failure to control their players," said Colin Campbell, the NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations.
To check out the fight and articles on this game, check out these articles and videos.

TWIH (Stolen from TWIB, This Week in Baseball)

2011-02-09T03:02:00.000-08:00

Injuries were the main story this week in hockey.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are depleted at the forward position. With two of the league top forwards already out (Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby), the Penguins added to their injuries with Chris Kunitz and Mark Letestu. Those four accounted for nearly half of their goal production this season, according to John Mehno of the Observer-Reporter.

Another injury happened to a key player this week. Keith Ballard, a defencemen that the Vancouver Canucks signed over the off season, injured his knee Monday night and could be out 3-4 weeks.

"It was stiff this morning, (which is) to be expected," Ballard said. "After sleeping last night, it stiffened up. I've been here for a few hours today, doing treatment, and it's helped quite a bit. It wasn't bad."

With Alexander Edler and Sami Salo out with their respective injuries, the Canucks have injuries to three very important players in their organization. In addition, Andrew Alberts was hit in the throat by a puck in practice Tuesday. Alberts remained on the ice for awhile before skating back to the bench under his own power.

"It feels like on the back end, there's always somebody hurt. And today, in practice, another injury, fortunately it wasn't anything serious," said Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa, according to tsn.ca.

Talking about getting injured in practice, New York "Islanders goalie Kevin Poulin injured his left leg in warmups Tuesday night, temporarily leaving New York without a backup for its game against the Toronto Maple Leafs," said ESPNNewYork.com. He caught his left skate in a rut and awkwardly fell. Mikko Koskinen, a goalie from Finland who was playing because of injuries to DiPietro and Nathan Lawson, got the emergency start and made his NHL debut. He was the fifth goalie to play for the Islanders this season, according to ESPNNewYork.com.

It is approximately three weeks away from the NHL trade deadline and talks are slow between teams right now. However, the bigger story is the player who wants to come back.

Peter Forsberg is expected to play by the end of this week for the Colorado Avalanche, according to Zach Nichols of the Examiner. "The Avs may need Peter Forsberg to play sooner rather than later," Nichols said.

Lastly, check out these two videos from the past week. One dirty hit and one solid punch!

All-Star Weekend

2011-02-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

It was the "long-awaited" affair between Team Lidstrom vs. Team Staal on Sunday. The final result: a very All-Star Game like 11-10 for Team Lidstrom including eight goals in the first period and eight goals in the last period. 21 goals combined is the fourth most in NHL All-Star Game history, as written by E.J. Hradek.

Again, this was the first All-Star Game to use captains and a draft. Nicklas Lidstrom, a perennial All-Star defenseman, and Eric Staal, the captain of the hometown Carolina Hurricanes, were the captains of each team. The game was played in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Also, a nice treat was given out to the last pick of the draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs' Phil Kessel. Kessel was given a brand new car and $20,000 to a charity of his choice. On a humourous note, a twitter account named DownGoesBrown said: "Phil Kessel wins a new car. It looks nice and it's really expensive, but it refuses to drive to the net."

I agree with another thing Hradek said. He said that if All-Star weekend continues with this format, "and I see no reason why they won't - they'd be wise to insist that one of the captains come from the host city. It creates a 'home team.'"

Do I like this format? Not really, but if it brings more fans to the game of Hockey and creates interest in All-Star Weekend, I am all for it.

According to nbcsports.com, it did.

"Luckily for the NHL, the weekend’s events produced great numbers in both the United States (on Versus) and Canada (on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada)."

Lastly, a quick overview of tonight's action. In a wild one, no pun intended, the Minnesota Wild won 1-0 over the Los Angeles Kings. The Wild had a shutout on strong goaltending by Niklas Backstrom.

And the Vancouver Canucks have gained first spot in the NHL tonight with a 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. The Canucks scored twice on the power play with goals from Mikael Samuelsson and Christian Ehrhoff.

The Latest and Greatest from "The Good Ol' Hockey Game"

2011-01-24T08:16:00.000-08:00

There were lots of happenings in the NHL this week. There are players trying to come back, another great player missing the All-Star Game (because no NHL players care), and a new feature I'm going to start this week: who's hot and who's not.

Evgeni Nabokov, former star goaltender for the San Jose Sharks, is trying to come back after a brief stint in the KHL in Russia. Nabokov was signed by the Detroit Red Wings, a playoff contender, on a one-year contract. The New York Islanders then picked him off waivers from the Wings. Nabokov was confused about this decision.

"It's just that I'm at the point in my career where I want to help a team win in the playoffs. I don't see how I could help the Islanders or what I could do for them. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me," said Nabokov, Sunday to espn.com.

Also, Peter Forsberg, 37, says he wants to come back for the 30th time in his career. On my memory alone, I can think of three times where Forsberg decided to come back half way through the season. It is ridiculous if you ask me but if the NHL allows it and you are old, why not?

Another star is going to miss the All-Star Game. The Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby is not going to play due to a concussion that started on January 1st against the Washington Capitals which was played at Heinz Field, home of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers.

"The Penguins organization has decided that he will not attend NHL All-Star Weekend and instead will continue to relax and recuperate in the hopes of returning to our lineup soon," said Penguins' general manager Ray Shero in a statement on Monday, according to thescore.ca.

Now for the new feature: who's hot and who's not.

Who's hot? The Tampa Bay Lightning are having won four in a row, riding the great play of Steven Stamkos who leads the league in goals and points. The San Jose Sharks have also won four in a row after losing the previous six before that. They are now holding down the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. And how about them Vancouver Canucks? Even though they have only won four of their last 10, the Canucks are on top of the Western Conference and their two superstars, Daniel and Henrik Sedin (who are twins), are both in the top five in points individually.

Who's not hot? The bad, horrible, terrible Edmonton Oilers. They have been leaking oil all season long. With only 14 wins in 47 games, the Oilers have eight less wins than anyone else in the Western Conference. They are young and have a lot of potential but fans of the Oilers are getting restless of this awful play the last couple years.

Patrick Kane is cold. He only has 36 points this season, which is way behind his average of the previous seasons, and has a -7 rating. Last season, when Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, Kane had a +16 rating.

In addition, Canadian coverage of the All-Star Game is way over the top. There are posts everywhere about this draft the NHL is having and no players care! There are around 10 players every year who miss it due to injuries, family, or personal reasons.

Pierre LeBrun is a popular guy to go to when talking about hockey blogs. He is a writer for ESPN and espn.com. His blogs have been talking about the All-Star Game for weeks now.

Lastly, reading all these blogs have made me realize that there are way too many injuries in sports. Team's seasons are lost due to injuries. I know that it is a part of sports but it sucks for the fan, the team, and the organization.

-http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8474141
-http://www.nhl.com/ice/standings.htm?season=20102011&type=CON
-http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=350790
-http://www.thescore.com/nhl/articles/108542-crosby-will-not-play-in-all-star-game
-http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/3777/weekend-wrap-plans-for-all-star-subs-options-for-islesnabby-99-on-hits-to-head
-http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=Agj1pfcPUxvz7EiMIgbQ.Y8JfwM6?slug=ap-avalanche-forsberg

The Happenings of the NHL

2011-01-19T01:15:00.001-08:00

I've lost my touch with the National Hockey League, or the NHL, living in Oregon, but I want to relive what I had in Canada by looking up different websites, newspapers and other blogs to see what I can find.

This week in the NHL, injuries were the main story as the NHL, The Sports Network (TSN), The Score and The Province Newspaper websites have stories related to the "depleted Red Wings", "Eberle close to returning" or "banged-up Habs' (referring to the Montreal Canadiens). Thescore.ca has also reported that Ryan Whitney, a defenseman for the Edmonton Oilers is sidelined for the entire season with an ankle injury.

Another important story this week was the suspension of Aaron Nichol, a forward for the San Jose Sharks. He "has been suspended four games for his elbow to the head to Phoenix Coyotes defenceman David Schlemko on Monday night and will forfeit $16,344.08 in salary," reports tsn.ca.

Also, in other news, the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) had their prospects camp this week showing such prospects to the NHL world like Daniel Catenacci, who won the fastest skater competition before the actual prospect game. Catenacci is "one of those guys that's, 'Give me the puck, I want it, I want to be the guy who makes the play,'" said one NHL scout, according to nhl.com.

It's almost midway through the season as well and we all know what that means! The NHL All-Star Game. An exhibition, which none of the players care about, to show off the greatest players the NHL has to offer. The captains, which were selected by the other all-stars, are Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes and Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings. Which makes this more compelling than any other year is because the captains now draft their team from the all the all-stars. The all-stars were selected by you, the fans.

I have noticed a couple things about the articles and blogs written about the NHL. One is how headlines begin with the one of the team's goaltenders. For example, "Jurco steals show", "Fleury, Penguins shut down Red Wings, 3-1", "Khudobin stops 31 shots as Wild defeat struggling Oilers", "Thomas key as Bruins finish sweep of Canes", and "Quick lets one slip away in 2-1 loss to Blues". I mean it is ridiculous. Give some credit to the goal scorers and defensemen every once in awhile.

The other thing I noticed is how big of a deal the All-Star Game is. This, to me, is a joke. Every All-Star Game in every sport is a joke, except for Major League Baseball. The athletes don't care. Their only wish is to not get injured. Hockey players pull out of the All-Star Game all the time because they want rest or they are a little banged up and do not want to injure themselves more. This is the same with the National Basketball Association.

The audience just wants the facts. Who won? Who lost? Who got injured? Who got traded? If the audience wants to know who did well, they can look at the statistics of the game.

Lastly, another tidbit of information, the websites of TSN and The Score have the same photo on their home page: Mike Cammalleri, a Montreal Canadien, bent over holding his arm after an injury to his shoulder.

Beavers' Football!

2010-08-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

Beavers' football is just around the corner and to be honest I'm pumped. With 9 returning starters on offense, according to osubeavers.com, the Beavers will be exciting and great to watch this year. The Rodgers brothers will obviously be the main threats for the Beavs but there are other weapons.
The Beavers have three very capable tight ends to block and even catch a few balls for the new starting quarterback Ryan Katz. John Reese, a redshirt senior, should see a lot of action this year with his good blocking ability and has 10 catches for 109 yards in his career. Brady Camp is another tight end for the Beavs. He has four touchdown catches in his career at OSU, including a touchdown pass from Jacquizz Rodgers last season in the wildcat formation. Last but not least is the 6'2", 252 junior, Joe Halahuni. Halahuni had 35 receptions for 486 yards last season and is truly a threat in the redzone for Katz this season. Halahuni is one of 32 candidates for tight end of the year in the nation, according to scout.com.
The wide receivers for the Beavers, including James Rodgers, aren't slouches either. Rising star and athletic stud, sophomore Jordan Bishop, should be in some action this season with his all-american honors in the high jump last season. Another stud on the rise is Markus Wheaton from Chandler, Arizona. The sophomore has a lot of potential and should see the ball come his way a lot this season. #15 Darrell Catchings is the second biggest threat for Katz this season. Even with ankle and wrist injuries last season, Catchings will be 100% for this 2010 season.
Now to the big question mark, Ryan Katz. I have not heard anything bad about this guy. He has a cannon of an arm. "Ability-wise, he has a wonderful arm. He can throw all the passes," said Coach Mike Riley. "He is pretty much unstoppable, so I don't think he'll be intimidated by anything."
So be ready for some great football coming out of Corvallis this season. It is going to be tough for the Beavers to win at TCU and at Boise St., but watch out for the PAC-10 season because the Rose Bowl is certainly in grasp this season, maybe even more than the last two season...

osubeavers.com
kansascity.com

Woods Struggles with Role Model Status

2009-12-04T23:52:00.000-08:00

"If you are given a chance to be a role model, I think you should always take it because you can influence a person's life in a positive light, and that's what I want to do. That's what it's all about." -Tiger Woods

If you have not heard, Tiger Woods has gained international attention this week for his off-course antics. Woods is not known for this sort of thing but here he is, in the international spotlight for allegedly cheating on his wife before getting in a car accident. Woods got into a single car accident in front of his estate in Windermere, Fla. The time of the crash was 2:25 a.m. when Tiger was leaving his house early Friday morning, the police reported.

In the following days, stories emerged about the not-so-faithful Woods. Three different women have come forward about being with Woods while he travels. This has led people to surmise that Woods and his wife, Elin Nordegren, were having a confrontation prior to the accident.

Allegedly the cause of the accident was not an animal or mechanical malfunction, but Woods' wife brandishing a golf club in her hand while chasing down her husband. Sources have also reported Woods' face damage had come from Nordegren, not the car accident like police reports have been saying.

Woods cheating, arguing and getting beaten up by his wife are all speculations and rumors. One thing is for certain in this incident: There was a car accident. That is the only certain thing.

People care way too much about celebrities' lives. The media hungers for celebrities to fall from their pedestal - to slip up or crash. It is their job, and they are well-paid to write and talk about celebrities. Plus, people pay to hear these stories, so why wouldn't they get reported? I do not really get riled up about events like Woods', but when the greatest golfer in the world is in the news for something other than golf it is going to be noteworthy.

Also, if you are Tiger Woods, the highest paid athlete ever, the greatest golfer ever and one of the most recognized people in the world, don't you think you would get caught cheating on your wife sooner rather than later? Even OSU athletes have to be very careful of what they do, where they go and who they are with every moment of their lives. They will be the first ones to tell you that. But even the Tim Tebows of the world are not Tiger Woods.

Tiger, your public image has not been completely ruined, but you definitely damaged it. Your golf game is amazing, and mentally, you are the strongest ever. I admire that. But you were talking about being a role model? That is obviously what you are not "all about."

The Class: It's Over:(

2009-12-02T15:40:00.000-08:00

Today marks the end of NMC 301 for me, hopefully. John Carney, Makenzie Marineau, Mahria Zook, Mike Martin and I have finished our project. We think we have done a very good job with the editing, interviews and storyboard so overall, we are happy with what we have done so far. The project is not done, however, and we will hopefully continue to work with this idea, because we believe it is a good one.
A few things went really well in this project. One is that all of us had different skills to bring to the table and even if some of us wanted to write or interview something, we compromised and it went well. Another aspect of our project that went well was our editing. John did a great job doing that and we all thank him for it. He spent hours upon hours on his computer doing this so we greatly appreciate it. I even got a quick little tour of Final Cut Pro so that was nice to at least see what it is all about. Also, we started a website called wisenet.weebly.com. It is obviously in its very early stages but it has the potential to be a very good one. That website has a lot to do with Makenzie, who planned it all out and did all the work, with a little bit of input by us. Lastly, I thought the group meeting last night was our best one. Even though we were missing one, Mahria, due to work, I think it was very productive and we got done what was needed to be done.
The one thing that really "broke my heart" was that we did not get footage of a very old, new user using Facebook, Twitter, or Skype for the very first time and loving it. That was our plan all along but with the short period of time we had to make our idea to come life, it is difficult. However, I still love the video.
The main thing I learned from this project is how much someone can use technology to his or her advantage. Talking to John about Final Cut Pro and listening to Sherry talk about how she talks to everyone through AIM instant messaging because "it is the next best thing to actually being there," really made me realize how lucky we are to have all these technology at our fingertips. The quote that Sherry made really stuck in my head.
Also, I believe this project has made my enable my interviewing skills. At first I was a little nervous interviewing a man in his sixties about technology because I have never done it before and it was intimidating talking to an older man about technology. However, as the interview went on and when we went back to talk to him, it seemed easier and easier. So it was comforting to know that I can interview someone any age and talk to them about anything.
Honestly, I could have worked harder. I put the effort in but seeing Makenzie and John working their rear end off for the team was unbelievable. I think I did what I needed to but I regret not doing more for the team.
Working in the team was obviously a hassle because everyone is so busy. Making time for a project that needs a lot of time put into it can be tough but for the most part we fought through it with persistence!
Going to the Senior Center and getting to interview D Payne, as I like to call him behind his back, and Sherry was a bonus. I think John and I did a great job asking questions to them and when we thought we should leave them alone and talk, we did. So that went really well for us.
Even though this was John's idea and he was kind handling the operations, we all had input at some point or another. In anything that you do, great teams have everyone contributing and that is another thing I felt we did really well together.
Again, thanks to all my partners for the work they put into this project and the time we spent together. Special thanks to Makenzie and John for putting their extra work into this and thanks to Pam for letting us make this dream into more of a reality.

The New Way to Tell a News Story

2009-12-01T02:01:00.000-08:00

Twitter and Facebook are the new news sources, says Gwen Navarette of the Associated Content. And it is true, people now get their information through these social networking sites. We all know Facebook keeps people up to date with each other and it is a nice, free tool for all of us to use. We keep in touch with family, friends who maybe live far away and people who have not seen in 10, 20, 30 years!
But, more and more people have been using these sites for reporting news. You can find out what is happening in the world just by going to twitter.com. Facebook also can help you but only your friends can see and you can only see your friends. With Twitter, anyone can see it simply by searching for news or by actually news sources who you can follow.
Navarette uses Typhoon Ondoy as her example. She said she truly opened up to the relevance of the news and social networking sites after this natural disaster. She stated that she freaked out when she saw "Anyone with a JETSKI or BOAT? My friends... need rescuing. Water's reached the second floor of their house. They live on..." on a Facebook account. It is amazing how far the internet has come, isn't it?
Also, in Navarette's writing it said that the Philippines is the texting capital of the world so word gets out fast. Again, I am astonished by how these social networking sites are changing the world right in front of our eyes. I am even now hooked on Twitter and I thought it was the stupidest thing ever! So, if you want your news fix, go to Twitter and/or Facebook and watch the world evolve right under in front of your eyes.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2235617/social_media_is_a_great_way_to_communicate_pg2_pg2.html?cat=15

Twitter: Running the World

2009-11-22T20:30:00.000-08:00

One word: Twitter. I can not believe how much I am using the stupid thing. Yeah, I called it stupid. Anyways, Twitter has been taking over my life and I do not know why. Is it the constant exclusive life into Terrell Owens and Alyssa Milano? Is it the sheer selfishness that I want everybody else to know what I am doing at every single moment of my life? I hope not.
I think it is because I realized how great of a social networking tool it is. Makenzie Marineau, newmediamak.wordpress.com, has taught me this. She is an NMC major and she has over 1,000 followers on Twitter. "Are you kidding me?" I asked myself when I saw this.
But then I asked her. She just told me straight up, "I don't know. I guess I am just networking." Then, I realized the true meaning of Twitter. It means different things to different people but to me, that is what it means and it has helped me appreciate the Twitter World that much more.
However, I want to talk about a blog post by Deborah Potter called "Twitter in the Newsroom." This is a perfect example of how Twitter can be used for so many different things. Twitter is being used in the newsroom to break news. That deserves another "are you kidding me?" There are now BreakingTweets, TwitterLocal and CityTweets to update to news stations of the news. Doesn't that sound funny.
To sum this all up, a quote from Patrick O'Brien, the digital development director at WUSA-TV in Washington, DC, says "For instance, if there’s a building collapse, you can search a 5-mile radius where the collapse took place to find anyone who may be twittering updates."

Our Project is Coming Along!

2009-11-22T20:16:00.001-08:00

John, Makenzie, Mahria, Mike and I are running with our project idea. Mike and I are interviewing our favorite man, Dwight Payne, and will be interviewing him again Wednesday. Mahria will be interviewing everybody's favorite professor, Bill Loges, along with other professors and important people we need to interview. Mike has helped the video aspect with Mahria and our logo. Makenzie has also been a huge help. She has interviewed people and helped all of us along the way, including helping me with TWITTER!
This week is going to be important to us. We need to get lots of work done and we will. So, group, let's jump on the train and go along for the ride!

The Worldwide Leader in Sports, and Using Technology to its Advantage

2009-11-15T17:31:00.000-08:00

ESPN has made a breakthrough with technology and introduced something extraordinary. They have combined the video game, Madden 09 by EA Sports, with real game footage to create real situations. To break it down, they can now show what might have happened if Tom Brady threw to Wes Welker instead of Randy Moss on a given play. Amazing, eh? (So Canadian).
The writer, Brooks Barnes, is showing us that even a sports television station is dipping into other parts of media to interest their audience, including video game users. To keep the audience interested every week, and every year for that matter, companies need to keep changing aspects every so often. This is what Barnes is showing.
I also want to talk about another blog that no one else knows of. The writer is a former teammate of mine, Alex Williams. He is a great golfer but even a better guy to hang around and be friends with. Alex has a great personality and is incredibly smart. He definitely shows this in his blog.
Alex went to Spain to start a new life. He was kind of sick of practicing golf everyday, to my understanding, and he wanted to do something new and exciting. This is what he chose. His blog is really interesting to read and his brilliance shows in his writing. He is funny, smart, and has a great heart. So you should check out Alex's blog, mrwilliamsgoestospain.blogspot.com, and learn something from his writing. Even if you do not learn anything from it, you will enjoy his fabulous writing. Plus, he is a huge Blazers fan, so of course you should visit his blog! In his profile picture, he is wearing a I love Rudy shirt in Spain.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/business/media/05espn.html

New Media Article Response

2009-11-05T19:49:00.000-08:00

This week I am going to respond to the blog post called "Copy and Paste: Enemy of the Web?" It was written on the 10,000 Words site and it a quick and short one to read. For how short it is, it is a very good blog and it is to the point, which is a good thing to do in a blog. The readers do not have that much time on their hands.
This blog blends right into what Pam talks about and New Media in general. The writer mentions Twitter as one of the great social networks to get answers right away. The writer states: "[The] [tweeps] immediate help speaks to the power of crowdsourcing and social networks like Twitter."
In addition, the writer talks about a huge problem in schools everywhere and supposedly now on different blogs: copy and pasting work that is not theirs! The writer does a really good job on telling us what we should do if somebody rips your work off of you. Pam also said to keep our blogs between four and six paragraphs and that is what this writer did.
So props to the person who wrote this blog. He/she told us about their story and the person who accused the act of copy and pasting knows who they are, which makes it that much better. The writer kept it short, to the point and knew what point he was trying to do with it. Props my writer. Props.
http://www.10000words.net/2008/12/copy-and-paste-enemy-of-web.html

New Media Article Response

2009-11-03T10:59:00.000-08:00

The blog I am writing about this week is titled "Social Networks and Kids: How Young is too Young?" on cnn.com. This is a very interesting topic because it is a rather big issue in society today. There are lots of parents out there that do not realize how many people are on facebook or other social networking websites today. They also do not know how "in" social networking is today. If you are a teenager and you do not have a facebook account, people will tell you to make one until you do.
However, how young is too young? This article does a great job of explaining the facts to you and quoting parents who have children around the ages of 10-15 or so. Doug Gross, who wrote this blog, also uses studies and surveys to make his blog that much better. Gross finds that there is a "children's facebook" called KidSwirl and this social networking site is being used by children five years of age.
I think that Gross is trying to make a point. He is saying that technology is ever changing and that social networking is the new craze in the world today but five years old? To me, they are going to make an account on these sites eventually but the parents really need to keep a track of what their five year old child is doing on a site like KidSwirt of facebook. I believe Gross is trying to say the same thing.
Subrahmanyam states at the bottom of the blog that "We've lost the control group. How do you find a group of kids that are not using the computer?" Gross and Subrahmanyam make a great point. I am sure that they can find a lot of families that do not even own in a computer somewhere in the world but this is where our world is heading with all this technology. The computer is changing the world so quickly it is scary and either directly or indirectly, this is what Gross is trying to say and he did a great job doing it.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/02/kids.social.networks/index.html

Our Project

2009-11-01T23:06:00.000-08:00

People-John Carney
-Makenzie Marineau
-Mahria Zook
-Jonnie Motomochi

Central Story-We are making a once and a lifetime opportunity for elderly folks. We are going to a retirement home and connecting older people to their loved ones, no matter how far or how old. These people, who have never used a computer, are probably overwhelmed with this technology and we are bridging that gap. We want these people to embrace and learn the technology we will put forth.

Components and Media-Video presentation/documentary
-Blogs
-Final written paper

Sidebars-Profiles/interviews of people involved (the backstory)
-Censuses (graphs) of where and when people stop/decline using the computer
-Also, a couple other graphs

Sources-People being interviewed
-US government census site: census.gov
-The staff of the retirement home
-Medical internet sites
-Possibly people in the medical field
-EHow.com

The last part of this will be done in the next few days!

New Media Article Response...Again

2009-10-26T22:48:00.000-07:00

I am sorry Pam but I found this article and I had to write about it. It is on 10,000 words and it is called "10 Ways to Improve Online Sports Journalism". Again, I am sorry Pam but I had to do it.
I love sports. Everything I think about, dream about, and I even eat is sports. So it is fitting to choose this article. If the whole "playing golf for a living" thing does not work out, I want to go into journalism either by writing, talking on the radio, or being on TV.
The first of the ten tips is to make it interactive, or to add visual aspects to your piece. This allows the reader to have the imagery wanted by the writer. Next is to map it. In the article it says that some MLB, NBA, and NFL stadiums are mapped on google. I do not know how much this actually helps the reader but it is a nice addition. Maybe if somebody is doing a golf blog, they can tell the reader where the golf is and map out the holes? Just an idea.
The third tip is to blog it. This is pretty self explanatory. Blogging is the new updating tool and everyone is doing it in New Media, so it is a must. The other tips include making a database, making it social, using Twitter (which can be very addicting), making it mobile, making it into a Podcast, "Widgetizing It" (putting little gadgets on the screen for up-to-date scores, for example), and letting the fans decide. I believe these tips are more for the person who wants to be great at sports journalism so I should incorporate all of these suggestions if I really want to do this.
There will not be professors with us our whole lives. At some point, we will all have to graduate and find our own way, including writing a good blog and creating creative ideas. Posts like this one, and other New Media posts around the internet, help everyone with their writing and their New Media understanding. So thanks to blogs and posts like this for helping us.
http://www.10000words.net/2009/06/10-new-media-approaches-to-sports.html

The Reader's Response on New Media Articles

2009-10-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

The two articles I have picked out are from bloggingtips.com and newmediamusings.com. The one from Blogging Tips is called "7 Reader Friendly Methods of Improving your Blogger Blog" and the blog from New Media Musings is called "Social Media Giving Big Media a Headache".
"7 Reader Friendly Methods of Improving your Blogger Blog" is obviously about improving your personal blog by making it better for the reader. All of the tips are not necessarily about your writing however. For example, one of the tips is to make your blog interesting and unique. This allows for the reader to easily recognize your blog from the other 77 million blogs posted around the web.
I like this post because it made me change a few things about my personal blog. I added a few more photos and like I already said, it makes my blog a little more unique and different. I tried to incorporate as many tips as possible, and I am still trying to figure out a couple, but a couple of the tips were already in my blog so that was nice to know.
The post called "Social Media Giving Big Media a Headache" is an extremely short piece. One of the four sentences is a quote from Adario Strange. He asks, "What will happen when they stop linking to old media and start creating their own media?" I believe this to be very true. It says in the post that "Digg and Wikipedia need sites like the New York Times for reference material." This is true now, but like Strange said, there will be a time where Wikipedia branches off into many other areas in New Media and will not need the likes of the New York Times to help them.
I know this upsets a lot of people, but I think that this is just the fact of New Media. Everything changes all the time. The professors in New Media Communcations at Oregon State University always say that you are going into a major where you have no clue where you are going to end up. This is so because the places where the New Media students are going to work are not necessarily existing yet.
Lastly, the last time the New Media Musings blog was updated was November 18th, 2007, which is a bummer because this post in particular was spot on. It just needed more detail and explanations.
http://www.bloggingtips.com/2008/05/05/7-reader-friendly-methods-of-improving-your-blogger-blog/
http://www.newmediamusings.com/

My Thoughts and Fears of this Project

2009-10-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

I am really excited and a little bit scared to do this huge project we have for NMC 301, Writing for the Media Professional. There a few reasons for both of my feelings but Pam's idea for this type of project is a good one and I'll give her props for that.
I am excited for numerous reasons but one is because our project idea is really good, I think. John Carney, who is my partner in this project, thought of a fantastic idea. The idea is to connect older people, who maybe did not have the technology we have now, to their grandchildren and maybe somebody over in war overseas. I took advantage of this idea and asked if I could be in his group with him. He accepted and I am very excited to be working with him.
I am also excited because this project could do wonders for us in the future. I hope that it is so good that we can use it for future references and other events we need it for. This is a great opportunity for that.
Now, for the fears. I am afraid of not doing enough. I am afraid of not getting a good grade. I am afraid that it is not going to be good enough. So, to be honest with you, I am a little afraid. This project is so big and means so much for the grade and the future that it better be good or else. So, with all this being said, I am fearing the result of this project.
This should be good though, maybe even great. And if we work hard and succeed with this idea, it should be a awesome one.

My Ideas for the Final Project in NMC 301

2009-10-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

Hey Class,

Well these are my preliminary ideas for our project. I've tried to put a lot of thought into it but I have not really thought of anything fantastic yet, I hope.

1. I want to do something that has to do with sports, obviously. One thing I wanted to do is do a promo for an athlete at OSU. I know a few guys and girls around campus and I am sure a few of them would be happy to do this.

2. A documentary on an athlete. His or her background, life story. We could make it into a biography in both video and writing.
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2009/05/as_oregon_state_returns_to_the.html
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2009/05/warden_wash_out_on.html

This is the kind of thing I'd like to do.

Well, tell me what you think and I'll see you guys Wednesday!

Junior

2009-08-19T16:41:00.000-07:00

Let's look at the MLB home run leaders over the past dozen years or so. In 1996, three teams - Baltimore, Seattle and Oakland - break the single-season home run record. Seventeen players hit at least 40 home runs. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the previous high for a season was eight, back in 1961.
1998 was the another year balls started to go out like Paris Hilton does a Friday or Saturday night. But seriously look at the numbers.
Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa put up 70 and 66 home runs in 1998. They both shattered the previous record of 61, held by Roger Maris, in 1961. Both have done steroids. And again in 1999, both Sosa and McGwire both had chances to break their own records hitting 65 and 63 home runs respectively. In 2000, Sosa hit 50 home runs, using steroids.
In 2001, Barry Bonds breaks McGwire's home run record of only three years by hitting 73 home runs, while Sosa hit 64. By the way, even though Bonds has not admitted to using steriods, everybody knows he has.
Again, in 2002, Alex Rodriguez won the home run crown, using steroids.
A-Rod is one of many very popular players using steroids. Now, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro are all linked to steriods.
But after all of this steroid talk, there is one person everybody would be disappointed with, Ken Griffey Jr. Everybody loves Griffey. The cool swingin' left hander has the best swing in baseball and I believe, without all those injuries in Cincinnati, he would be baseball's all time home run king. If you look at Griffey over the years, sure he has gotten bigger and I think that is just maturity over the years. Remember, Griffey came into the league at only 19 years of age. Why I discuss this is because people have been starting to talk about it after Ortiz, A-Rod, and Ramirez. People would be truly disappointed with Griffey. He was the face of baseball through the 90's and people should be disappointed.
In short, with all these people in the discussion of steroids, George Kenneth Griffey Jr., please do not tell us that you have used steroids because with all this cheating in baseball, we don't need you cheating as well!

Putting Things into Perspective

2009-06-09T22:10:00.000-07:00

Well, after my last post, life has been different. One of my friends, from Vancouver, past away after he was drinking and driving while camping. You do not realize how much events like this affect you until it happens and you think it will never happen to you. But a little bit of a reality check, it does. It does and I never thought it would happen to me either.
You have a choice after something like this happens to one of us. The first one is to sit there and do nothing. You can pout, be depressed, and keep your head down all day. Another option is to think nothing of it. Grieve for a few days and then after, do nothing about it. However, the option I am going with is using this event as a learning tool. An experience. A guidance and I know that Riley will enjoy the fact that I am doing this.
This life changing event has put life into perspective. I am a golfer at Oregon State University and this year, my freshman year, I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform and therefore, it did not allow me to do my personal best. But, golf does not mean as much as family. Education does not mean as much as relationships. So, what I am trying to say is that friendships and family are what really matters in life and you should spend quality time with them. So this tragedy, I believe, is going to allow me to play more relaxed round of golf and therefore play better golf.
In the end, it does not matter how you do on your Biology final, as long as you gave it a hundred percent. It does not matter if you missed 8 out of 10 free throws in your high school basketball game, and it does not even matter if you went hitless in the World Series because as long as your loyal to your friends and family and gave it a hundred percent in whatever you are doing, they will ALWAYS be there for you in the end.
Now talking about choices, there is a great story I was sent in a chain e-mail around ten years ago, and yes, I still have it. Remember, life is about decisions and your attitude towards them.

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life." I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business. He left the back door open one morning and was held up at gun point by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he said, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live. "Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man." I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Diesel

2009-05-20T23:59:00.000-07:00

This is really tough for me to write as I start to tear up and shake while I type this message. This is not just another friend, brother, or son we are missing. It is a man with desire, passion, and determination for everything he does. He loved his family and his friends and I remember Diesel telling us the stories of his mother backing him up at sporting events. These are the classic times that we will remember with Riley.
Another thing. I feel like I have to write this because of a couple reasons. One, because I am on Facebook 24/7 right now looking up pictures that people have put up and all the notes people are writing, plus all the messages on his wall. It kills me to see a person from our grad class, especially Riley Delaney, pass on. When I got the phone call saying that Riley past away I was in complete shock, as everybody was. "Really? Is this happening? Riley? The man I hugged, shared grad with and shared some of the most amazing memories with is not here anymore?" It is surreal isn't it? To think about this?
As soon as I get back in my dorm room, I immediately think about Riley. I go on Facebook, look through his photos, videos, and comments, and just start tearing up. Especially the videos. Wow, the man is truly one in a trillion.
I'm sure all of North Delta is hurt from this tragedy. The guy knew everybody and everybody knew him. He is a hero and is the nicest fullback/linebacker anyone knows. And by everything I have read and seen, this is the truth.
My condolences go out to the Delaney family. One of the strongest families I know but even the Delaney's are going through a rough time right now.
Perspective comes out from Riley's passing. School? Sports? Money? No. Relationships matter. Friends matter. Family matters.
Diesel. You were and still are one of a kind. A guy that we could joke with, have serious talks with, get pumped up with, party with, and be friends with. You are truly one of a kind Diesel. I know you will be looking down on us, giving us an odd lucky break or two. You have one the biggest hearts and everyone knows that. And you know how you said that we'll party when I get back? Well, when I get up there with you my friend, everyone knows we will.

To Diesel.
The man, the friend, the brother, the son.
We love you bro. "Left Side. Strong Side."

There's the Big Ticket, and then there's the Classic Raincheck

2009-05-19T23:14:00.000-07:00

I am talking about Kevin Garnett and Glen "Big Slob" Davis. I have a lot of respect for "Big Baby." A lot of us saw his profile on ESPN where they talked about his rough childhood with his mother being a drug addict and a prostitute. So what Davis has done is truly remarkable coming from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He had to be a role model for his two sisters. But, when it comes to basketball, I am not his biggest fan.
At Louisiana State University, Big Baby was an icon. He dominated games with his 6'9", 300 lbs. stature. In his sophomore year, Davis was on the All-American Second Team and won the SEC Player of the Year. Because of his size, he dominated the young college players and did all his work inside. He averaged 17.7 points and 10.4 rebounds in that sophomore year. However, Davis quickly found out that the players in the NBA are that much bigger, stronger, and faster.
These are the reasons why Glen Davis should be riding the pine, so to speak, for most NBA teams. First of all, his shot is awful. He shoots the ball like Shaquille O'Neal and hey, even Shaq can make the odd outside shot. Second of all, he is not Kevin Garnett. Since Garnett was injured and likely not playing the rest of the season, the Celtics and Boston fans were leaning on Big Baby. I know nobody is going to argue this point but after he hit the game winning shot in game four, everybody thought he was the savior and because of him, they were going to win the series. Even Lebron was on the Big Baby bandwagon saying that the 'Celtics are going to be tough because of Rondo and Big Baby.' In addition, Davis takes way too many shots for the size that he is. I believe he has realized he cannot dominate in the NBA and tried to develop a shot. I say give the ball to your superstars, aka Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, and even Eddie House and Stephon Marbury.
Now it is time to back this up with stats. The best game, arguably, that the Celtics had was game two against the Magic. Davis took smarts shots, only taking five shots, making four, and went five for six at the line ending up with 13 points and more importantly winning by 18. Also, in game five against Chicago, Big Baby went 7 for 11 from the field and and 7 for 8 at the line in 41 minutes of action, getting the win. This is the most shots Glen Davis should be taking. He should definitely not be shooting twenty shots a game.
Thank goodness for next season when I don't have to see Davis' ugly shot twenty times a game and the best power forward comes back to play for the 17 time Larry O'Brien Trophy winners, the Boston Celtics. Glen Davis, you are a great guy but you will always be an average NBA player who won a championship or two.
Lastly, directed right toward Big Baby and to change the quote of Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own, "There's no crying in basketball."

Royality in KC

2009-05-12T08:33:00.001-07:00

Zack Greinke is a stud in Kansas City. The 25 year old not only has started 6-1, losing his last start, but the Royals are leading the central division in the American League. Look at these numbers. Greinke's ERA is a minuscule 0.51, he lost his first game this season in his last start and only let up one run, he has completed four out of seven starts, and he has 59 strikeouts compared to his 8 walks. This guy is on fire.
But that is not what makes Greinke a man to talk about. The 6'2", 200 lbs. right hander, hailing from Orlando, Florida had Social Anxiety Disorder and found this out early in his days as a Major League pitcher. The talented pitcher would throw 95, even 96 mph in practice and when he would start for the Royals Greinke would throw anywhere from 84-89, with his fastball. That is what makes this kid so special.
Every coach in the organization told him to let it go. Just let it go. Which was probably right in most cases, but not Greinke's. But it got worse than this. He started throwing 50 mph curveballs and in the next spring training, he could not even concentrate on pitching and baseball. This was in 2006 and right then in spring training, he told the Royals coaching staff that he had to get away from baseball.
This made Greinke the pitcher he is today. He came back late in the 2006 season, with new medications that were working great, but pitched in only three games and he realized that baseball is just a game. And in 2007, he was back. In one story, before one game, one of his teammates was asked where Zack was just before gametime. His response: "He's probably sleeping somewhere." He then went 7-7 in 2007 and 13-10 in 2008 on a bad Royals team.
Remember, in whatever sport or game you play, it is just a game. And when adversity hits you, you can get through it with hard work and making the right choices, just like the potential 2009 Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke. I wish Greinke the best of luck the rest of the season and the rest of his career. He deserves it.

Hockey in America

2009-05-03T23:46:00.000-07:00

Americans and Hockey. It is like the sport does not even exist. I came from Hockey 24/7 to no Hockey at all. No one in America follows it nor do they care at all. I do not understand this one bit. For one, Hockey is the fastest sport in the world. They are going up and down the ice constantly and there is a reason why the guys are only out there for 45 seconds at a time. They are giving it all they got for that short period of time. Another thing I don't understand is that Hockey is a very violent sport and Americans love violence. Football is the most violent sport and Football is like Hockey in Canada, it is on the sports channels all the time. Comcast even showed the spring Football game at the University of Oregon! Also, UFC is one of the fastest growing sports and everybody loves it because of its blood and brutality. Lastly, I do not think people realize how athletic a person has to be to play Hockey. They are agile, they are extremely strong, and how many people in this world can deflect a 100 mph slapshot into 6' by 4' net?
So all I'm asking is maybe when Matthew Barnaby or Barry Melrose talks on Sportscenter or the Penguins and Capitals are playing on Versus, just take a second, watch, and just maybe you'll like it.