The Mitchell Report

We all know that the famed Mitchell Report has came and is now gone, but its effect on baseball will last for generations. But did it do all that it was set up for? First of all most of the names that came out we either already knew about, we could assume or they were of players that even die hard fans like myself have never even heard of. Another thing wrong with it was that with the new performance enhancing drug rules in place, none of the players mentioned will be in any trouble. (Except of course Roger Clemens but that is about perjury now.) The tests will now be beefed up to nearly once a month at random, and the players will not be tipped off the day of because they will happen as soon as they get to the ballpark. The new drug policy will be overseen for the first time by an outside administrator, which is very good news for baseball because they are finally recognizing the problem that they had. The second big addition to the testing policy is that the top 200 prospects will be tested at random just like the Major Leaguers. (This has already caught one victim Braves prospect, Jordan Schafer, here). However the suspensions to Jay Gibbons and Jose Guillen will not be assessed. Another very good thing that this new policy will institute will be that the Players Association and MLB will up their efforts to educate young children on the dangers of PED use. This may be the most positive addition to the MLB drug policy because up until a few years ago no effort was made to educate the children of the game, which are of course the future of America’s National Pastime. This new movement maybe a little to late for Bud Selig and Donald Fehr to enhance their image, throughout history. They will both be known as the men who turned a blind eye to steroids but at least now they are making an effort to change that. The new policies can be found here.

Curses in Sports

Earlier this week the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry took another turn, as a construction worker on the new Yankee Stadium buried a David Ortiz jersey in the concrete foundation of the visitor’s clubhouse, in an attempt to jinx the team. (Footage here). At first the Yankees played it off like it was a joke, but then when more and more reports started surfacing, and the worker who did it, Gino Castignoli came forward. In the Yankee- Red Sox rivalry you don’t joke about curses, you take them very seriously. So seriously that the Yankees spent thousands of dollars successfully digging the jersey up. This situation is being taken so seriously that the Yankees are contemplating bringing criminal charges against Castignoli. The Yankees originally thought of keeping the jersey buried, but then they didn’t want to reward someone who had such bad intentions. In sports it is not unusual to bury something in the foundations of playing venues for good luck. In the 2002 Olympics a worker on the ice hockey rink buried a Canadian coin near center ice, to give the Canadian hockey team good luck. Canada went onto win its first gold medal in over 50 years. An unknown good luck charm was buried in the foundation of the original Yankee Stadium in the 1920s to help the team win the World Series. The Yankees then went onto to win 26 World Championships, the most of any team in baseball. Was this as big of an issue as it became, no. But because it was the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry it became what it did. My apologies to Ohio State vs. Michigan and Auburn vs. Alabama in college football, to North Carolina vs. Duke in college basketball, to Cowboys-Redskins in the N.F.L., and any other rivalry we have in sports. This is why this rivalry is the best in all of American sports and nothing else is even close.

March Madness 2008

For the first time since seeding began four number one teams made the Final Four. A little school from nowhere started beating everyone, not that this was new but for a 10 seed, which barely anyone had ever heard of, to make it to the Elite Eight, it’s a big deal. They had a scorer named Stephen Curry who was dropping buckets like it was his job, he single handily beat Gonzaga and Georgetown, had a huge role in the defeat of Wisconsin, and had eventual National Champion Kansas shaking in their boots. Upsets were at a premium and last second heroics were present this year more than they have ever been before. The Final Four was one of the most boring in years as Kansas blew out overall number one seed North Carolina and Memphis didn’t even give UCLA a chance. With that being said however, Memphis and Kansas met up for one of the best National Championship games in years. With last year’s football and basketball championships being complete blowouts, as with this year’s football championship game as well, America needed a good game. It got one. Coming down to the final possession Mario Chalmers hit a clutch three with seconds remaining to force overtime. Memphis had an eternal enemy all year long, they disguised it during the NCAA Tournament, but it showed itself in the Championship game. Memphis couldn’t shoot free throws, in their two losses to Tennessee and to Kansas; they shot less then 60 percent from the line. You can have the best point guard in the game (and the did for a while, freshman Derrick Rose) you are still going to lose if you can’t shoot free throws. Memphis’s collapse down the stretch will be remembered for years, and the old saying was proven true again John Calipari cannot win the big one. This years bracket here.

Jordan’s

Michael Jordan the living legend has been the face of his own marketing campaign since it’s beginning. In 1985, Jordan flew through the air, tongue out and made one of the most memorable slam-dunks in history. On his feet, the first pair of his custom Nike’s. In bright red and dark black they were unlike anything that anyone had ever seen before. With big Nike swooshes on the sides, the empire was born. Jordan now commands millions of dollars each year for his custom sneakers. Top N.B.A. players like Carmelo Anthony, Richard Hamilton and Ray Allen all are signed to mega deals by His Airness. Derek Jeter, Terrell Owens and Andruw Jones are other athletes signed to the Jumpman. The launch day for his signature line of sneakers is near his birthday, which occurs in February. Athletes wearing Jordan shoes have preformed some of the most memorable moments in sports. The shot he hit against the Cavilers in the Eastern Finals came while he was wearing the fours, the Dream Team he wore red, whit and blue seven’s, and the shot over the Jazz in the 1998 Finals were the 14’s. His brand name isn’t just a shoe; it’s a subculture that exists in both the sports markets and the sneaker world. Famous advertising campaigns like the Mars Blackmon ads starring Spike Lee, the Carmelo Anthony I want the last shot ads and the most recent There are no Cinderella’s during this years March Madness are just a few of the successful commercials he has had. There are now 23 different editions of his signature line, and tons of other shoes like team and half models. Jordan isn’t just the name of the greatest basketball player of all time; it is the name of one of the most powerful brands on the planet. His website can be found here.

Farewell to Dodgertown

Since 1948 the Brooklyn now Los Angeles Dodgers have held their spring training camp in Vero Beach, Fl. A small town, with a broken down military base was all Branch Rickey and the team needed to teach the Dodger way to play baseball. Dodgertown has street names named after Dodger legends like Jackie Robinson, Roy Campenella, Duke Snyder and Tommy Lasorda. The facility looks like a high school baseball park and is barely able to keep a major league team happy. But it does, and it did a great job for 60 years. Dodgertown is closing down because the team is moving to Phoenix because they want to be closer to their fan base, however the team has a great number of fans in Vero. Phoenix will offer the Dodgers financial consideration and a brand new state of the art facility to prepare for the season. What makes Dodgertown unique besides the history and the town, is the openness. There are no high fences, very few restricted areas and the players are within an arms reach, pretty much all the time. Since it’s an older facility, the players have to walk to and from the fields on the same paths the fans take. This allows for unparallel access to your favorite ballplayers. The Dodger Ambassador, former manager Tommy Lasorda still drives around the camp in his golf cart, kissing babies and signing autographs for kids. The memories that will be left in Vero will last a lifetime, and it is time for new memories to start in Arizona. Dodgertown will truly be missed. A video from the New York Times has a vdeo on this story here.

Joba and Harlan Chamberlain

Joba Chamberlain burst onto the scene last August and became an immediate fan favorite. His electric personality, his lights out fastball and the famed “Joba Rules” have all contributed to his immense popularity. A story was written last year by the Daily News gave the first look into the unbelievable relationship between Joba and his father, Harlan. Harlan, has had polio since he was nine months old, cannot use his left arm and has to get around on a motorized scooter. Harlan raised Joba and his siblings alone, in a small apartment near Lincoln, NE. Joba’s real name is Justin but after spending time with a Native American Indian Reservation he changed his name to reflect his relationship with them. Joba says his father is not only the man who created him, he is his best friend. During the rubber match of the first Red Sox- Yankees series of 2008, Harlan Chamberlain collapsed. Joba’s sister broke the news to him over the phone shortly after the game, and not even Joe Girardi the Yankees manager could console him. The Yankees flew to Tampa for a short series with the Rays and Joba was with them. However shortly after landing, Joba took a flight to Lincoln to be by his Father’s side. Joba and Harlan are the epitome of the Father-Son relationship in baseball. A game that has been passed down for generations, Joba shows what’s really important, not money, not fame not even the game of baseball. Family. Harlan Chamberlain get well soon.

New York Yankees and The Daily News

As the New York Yankees play their final season in “The House That Ruth Built” the New York Daily News has launched a website and special Sunday pullout section of their paper. The pullout chronicles different era’s in the Stadium, from its beginnings in the 1920s to its last goodbye. Everyone from Ruth, DiMaggio, Berra, Rizzuto, Hunter, Jackson, Munson, Mantle, Maris, Ford, Jeter, Torre and even Rodriguez and many more will all be covered. The section features articles written from past and present columnists, photos of all the greats and even has a “Yogisms” section. The photos capture the detail and presence of all of the greats. There are several pictures of Babe Ruth in which you see the massive presence that he had wherever he went. You see a picture of him with soldiers, and he towers above even the tallest ones. The website is extremely well put together and it uses the new media technology that is present to further enhance the print version. An interactive timeline, quiz, photos both submitted by Daily News photographers and even the readers are just some of the features available on the site. The site even has a blog, which is being written by the columnists of the Daily News Sports section. The blog focuses on what is currently going on in the Yankee Universe and what happened on that day in Yankees history. What is really well done by the site is how interactive the readers can get with it. Besides posting their own photos, readers can submit postings on their favorite moments at Yankee Stadium. The House That Ruth Built may be torn down next year, but sections like this and the great memories in all Yankee fans hearts, will keep it standing forever.

The Pats Super Bowl Shirts

Every year the company who gets an exclusive license to produce the Super Bowl Champions t-shirt, has a tough decision to make, which shirt to produce? Since no one in this world is psychic the company produces an immediate run of about a thousand or so for each team. However nobody wants a shirt that says they are champions when they just lost the biggest game of their lives. So a few years ago companies started giving the losing teams shirts, to underprivileged third world countries. That is why you will see a lot of kids in those ads to adopt a child wearing Buffalo Bills Super Bowl Champions shirts. (There are quite a lot of those since the Bills lost four years in a row.) The N.F.L. has really got their acts together by doing this. This shows commitment to the world and most importantly its children. Kudos N.F.L. on whoever instituted this idea. The video can be found here.

NewsTrust

Going a little off topic for this post, but I felt it was necessary to talk about NewsTrust.net. This is a site that allows its readers to rate solid journalism and recommend it to fellow readers. The site moderators of News Trust pick a topic for the week and allow the readers to submit stories on it. The more you submit, the higher your ranking is and the higher your contributions are placed on a certain topic. NewsTrust also allows its readers to comment and rate several different aspects of the story. The higher each of the rankings is the better the story, and the more it gets read. However if the story does poorly it gets pushed to the bottom of the pile and readers have to search harder to find it. The rankings allow you to rate specific areas of the story such as facts, sources, quality of sources, stakeholders, to the way it’s written and several others. The site then allows you to write about whether you think the story is good journalism or if it falls short. You are allowed to write about 250 words describing what you think the story does well and what you think the story fails in. The next section allows you to post a key quote that you think sums up the article best. My favorite part of News Trust was the section where it allows you to rewrite a paragraph or paragraphs that you think need work on. By allowing this feature, this site really connects its readers with the news going on in the world. News Trust is the new wave of online journalism and people should be ready to embrace it.

Extra Mustard and Page 2

A part of the SI website, Extra Mustard pokes fun at the lighter side of sports. It is somewhat news oriented but it is mainly aimed at the casual fan who wants to enjoy a laugh or two about sports. Too many websites try to be serious and not poke fun at some of the idiosyncrasies in sports. Extra Mustard actually requires very little journalism, most stories are just little blurbs with links to other pages, but it gets the job done. They really have the advancing technology down pat, as they blog, post video and links and allow for readers to send in their own submissions and if it's good enough, they will post it. They do everything from stupidest athletes, to the all convict football team, to posting videos of every body's favorite female sports reporter Erin Andrews. (She actually posts from time to time as well.) What I like best about Extra Mustard is the site embraces the new technology that is present in the world of sports media today, and they use it very well. To counter Sports Illustrated, ESPN launched Page 2 several years ago and it is one of the most read sections on the site. Some of the journalism is serious, but mostly it is either blogs or funny little quirks in the world of sports. Bill Simmons the most famous of the Page 2 columnists launched his career from writing on this site so much. Page 2 will be a vast collection of articles, predictions, pictures, links and videos relating to the content. Page 2 has sections like Uni Watch, cartoons, the BS Report and even has a link where ESPN The Magazine subscribes can read the current issue online, with the pictures ads and everything else. Most columnists usually write a weekly post, which can be a prediction on a season or playoffs, what a stupid thing an athlete or athletes did, to just plain old writing about an issue in sports with a more serious tone. What Page 2 does very well is they are journalists, writing actual journalism just in not that serious of a tone.

The Masters New Technology

With the 72nd Masters wrapping up for Augusta, GA yesterday, we got to see first hand the new technology that was available for the first time at a Major. CBS Sports had several new tools to bring fans closer to the action and to understand what is really happening in the game. First of all the Masters was available on three screens, (for AT&T Wireless subscribers only). The screens were the television, the computer and your cellphone. This technology is advancing by the minute, so the picture quality is getting better and better. This was available last year but it had several kinks, such as slow load time, freezing and unclear picture quality. This year however the reviews have been mostly positive, which is a step in the right direction. CBS also launched the 3-D course views, which was unbelievable. Anywhere a player was on the course, CBS could show you the exact geographical situations the player would be facing. You got to see how the lie was, what they had to watch out for, the hills, runoffs and the like. It really gave you a first hand look at just how hard Augusta National really is and why the low scores have been declining over the years. It used to be when they said that the player had to hit it up 30 degrees, you just had to take the commentators words for it. Now you actually got to see what 30 degrees was and how the player would have to strike the ball to play the shot properly. The best views that came from the 3-D animation were when a player was stuck in the trees or rough, and to play the ball past some obstacles. As the viewer only certain angles are provided for you by television, so you basically had to guess what they were going to do. Now the 3-D showed how high they had to hit, what they had to play the ball around and how they had to do it. CBS also unveiled shot tracker for certain tee shots. This was great because on certain dog legs at Augusta you really have to fade or draw the ball or else you would find yourself in some real trouble. Shot tracker allowed the viewer to follow the path of the ball in slow motion so that you could see how the players struck it with his club, to do what the ball did. It was interesting to see how high the players shoot the ball and how much a fraction of an inch really matters. For the first year ESPN, covered the afternoon rounds of Day One and Two at Augusta. What ESPN did very well was they set up live views from Amen Corner and Scott Van Pelt even did a podcast recapping the days highlights. The Masters is one of, if not the, pristine tournament of the year and technology allowed coverage like no other. Finally, the best part of Masters coverage has been the same for years, just allowing a few sponsors to shell out an insane amount of money so that there were hardly any commercials. More sporting events should follow this premise.

SportsCenter Minute

Da-Na Da-Na. Sportscenter, one of the greatest shows ever to grace the airwaves just got better. To compete with themselves SC launched the SportsCenter Minute. A sixty second rundown of everything currently going on in sports every hour on the hour. ESPN plays it on both the website and the television station. No more waiting for the Internet or 11:00, you can get current information now. Don’t have ESPNNews? No problem, the video saves online for the hour until the next one launches. It’s a little annoying to watch the same Aflac ad all day (I hate that duck, but he saves me money) but you get filled in with the most current information available. If you don’t like to read this is Heaven for you because all you have to do is watch. (Now if they can only get Erin Andrews to do the SportsCenter Minute, that would be an idea). The SportsCenter Minute works very well because it is everything Americans like, it’s quick, fast and it’s about sports. Kudos to whoever invented it.

MLB.TV

In my opinion one of the greatest inventions in sports history is MLB.TV. There is nothing better then sitting back on a summer evening enjoying a cold beer, a nice sandwich and watching your favorite team play America’s National Pastime. I myself am a Yankee fan and I live in enemy territory, Boston. So I don’t get to see the greatest sports franchise under the sun play. But now with MLB.TV I get to watch every game my beloved pinstripes play. Whether they are in Toronto battling Roy Halladay and the Big Hurt, or they are in Oakland battling the Pathetics, I can see them play. It is very interesting to see advertising from around the nation, (people from the west buy some stupid stuff). For those of you unfamiliar with MLB.TV here’s how it works. All you need is a computer and an Internet connection. You plug in, log on and you get streaming video of the game. It’s a little behind but MLB.com promises that this year will be better. Last year they added a mosaic feature, which lets you watch six games at once. SIX GAMES AT ONCE! It highlights your favorite teams and you can have it send alerts when something is happening in your game. One of the things that I enjoy most is the fact that you hear commentary from around the nation, and the way some people these days can call games is like a 21st century Jack Buck. (For the record nobody will ever be Jack Buck). MLB.TV is one of the greatest technological advances to ever happen to the sports world and it’s getting better as we speak.

NASCAR in Car

The fastest growing sport in America has another way for you to enjoy it. They put you in the car, in the pits and hearing the radio. Well not literally of course. I am talking about DirecTV’s NASCAR in Car, a service available with their very popular NASCAR package. Hear Junior curse at his car, watch Tony Eury Jr. call the number 88s shots and see super owner Rick Hendrick huff and puff up and down pit road coaching his drivers and hoping to pull away with another cup win. This service has boosted DirecTV’s sales tremendously and is one of the most improved aspects of covering sports in history. For those who find NASCAR boring and think it’s cars driving in a circle, this is a new aspect that can bring them in. For the die-hard car fans it brings them one step closer to the oval.

New Uniforms

When uniforms in all sports started they were pretty much heavy, bulky, rough pieces of wool crudely sewn together. Now uniforms are just as technical as the equipment covering the sports. Light fabrics that wick away sweat to make you lighter, skin tight material that keeps you warm and your barely wearing anything at all. Uniform sponsorships in all the major sports lead to newer and newer technology and better competition between companies. Currently Reebok makes uniforms for both the N.F.L. and the N.H.L. Adidas, primarily a soccer company has expanded their sports repertoire by branching out and sponsoring the N.B.A. Majestic has won a fierce battle with Reebok and Nike to sponsor M.L.B. But just because one company has won the sponsorship of a sport doesn’t mean they own it forever. NFL Equipment, made by Reebok, held a monopoly over all uniforms, gloves and arm protection worn in football. This year however, the juggernaut that is Nike slipped in and was allowed to make gloves for the players they sponsored. Paul Lukas columnist for ESPN’s Page Two, writes a weekly column called Uni Watch, wear he points out idiosyncrasies in the uniforms and writes about the new technology taking place in them. (His site can be viewed here). Reebok developed streamlined uniforms for the N.H.L. that make the players more aerodynamic and give them less weight to have to carry around. Technology contributes to all aspects of sports, to the way there covered, to the things the athletes wear, and it will change over and over again.

Technology that has failed in sports.

For years sports have experimented with technology, some of which has succeeded and some that have failed. Cameras mounted on layers, officials and every possible angle on the playing surface. ESPNNEWS, Fox Sports Channel and the NFL Network have all had success bringing constant streaming sports news to cable television. But not all ideas have worked. Ideas like the NHL’s glow puck and the synthetic leather ball in the NBA. Ideas that were made to change and revolutionize their respective sports were met with extreme criticism. The glow puck which was showcased by Fox during the 1995-96 and briefly the 96-97 seasons was supposed to make non hockey fans enjoy the sport because too many complained they couldn’t follow the speeding vulcanized rubber disc. The concept was great on paper but its concept failed because frankly, it made you dizzy watching the game. You tried to watch the colored disc but after a few seconds you felt like you were going to lose your lunch. Fox also added a comet tail feature for shots that went over 75 M.P.H., this failed too because it was always to far behind the puck, and followed the puck for too long. The N.B.A experimented with a synthetic leather ball in the 06-07 season but it was quickly shot down. Conspiracy theories surround the rock, that it was P.E.TA. Who was behind the change (no theories have been proven). The ball slipped out of players hands, felt tacky and playmakers complained they couldn’t perform some of the moves that made them all-stars with it. Steve Nash and Agent Zero, Gilbert Arenas were two such players. Technology and sports always go hand in hand, but sometimes like the examples above, they fail.

9 neighbors

9 neighbors is a website dedicated to the people who live in and around the hub. It is site that is devoted to bringing up to date information on the news around Boston. Everything from traffic and train schedules, to pot hole maps and current Red Sox information. This site has it all. 9 Neighbors is journalism because well it covers the news, has an audience and because it's truthful information. Sometimes there is an opinion or two, but mainly it is truthful information. 9 Neighbors is not journalism because it is unregulated, it is hard to verify all the facts on it (if they are facts at all), and most would argue since it just takes links from other sites and does very little of its own reporting it isn't really journalism. However I would need to argue that even though most of the information is provided by other sources and links, somebody has to find it and compile it, so that makes it journalism. There is a role for professional journalists everywhere so their is definitely one on 9 Neighbors. A professional journalist could do some original reporting, they could help fact check and they could help better the reputation of the site by being a part of it. Mainstream sites should definitely use sites like 9 Neighbors because since it's citizen journalism, the citizens are going to read it. This helps their readership and it makes them feel more at home with citizens and less like the big media machine that a lot of sites and news organizations are viewed as. I think that 9 Neighbors pulls of the citizen journalism part of their site very well. However I think they need to add more meat to their reporting, all it is, is a few sentences explaining the link. They should put some more into their blurbs. All in all I think 9 Neighbors is a very good site. 

Super Bowl

MYSpace.com also owned by the all powerful Rupert Murdoch, just like Fox who broadcast the game came up with one of the best ideas in Super Bowl history. They created a page just for the commercials so you could watch them over and over again. Also if you miss them you can see them again. The page can be viewed here. My favorite ad of this year was the Jackie Moon ad for Bud Light. Viewed here. This is great for the ads that worked. However several ads were flagged as racist or sexually demeaning. The Sales Genie ads that featured both a panda and a worker and his boss. They can be viewed here and here. Both were immediately scolded and have been pulled from regular rotation. It seems like every year some company doesn't have a clue and makes a terrible mistake on a racist or sexist commercial. For these commercials the internet websites that feature these ads are a terrible invention. However for the ads like Bud Light and Coca-Cola who did very well this year, these websites are amazing. Their message gets out over and over again, and people can watch their favorite ads the way they were meant to be seen.

Spygate: What's the Deal?

A report surfaced earlier this week that the Patriots spying scandal was a lot more than we originally realized. Commissioner Roger Goodell was called out by Senator Arlen Spector, asking why the tapes were destroyed and why more action was taken against the Patriots. Matt Walsh, now an assistant golf pro in California was employed by the Patriots from 1998-2003 where he shot video for them. He said that he taped the Rams final walk through on the eve of Super Bowl XXXVI. A walk through is where the team goes through what plays they will be running in the game in certain situations. If this is true, this would be extremely damaging to the Patriots and Bill Belichick. Who knows if what Walsh is saying is true, but this will defiantly linger over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII and even worse history. Technology has become so crazy over the years in regards to the game of football, it's hard to keep up. Twenty years ago it would be hard for all this videotaping to go on unnoticed, but now with cameras being so small and sophisticated and the internet it's going to be hard to try and catch everyone. The 2007 Patriots are one of the best teams to ever play the game of football period. It's a shame that this scandal will follow them throughout history no matter what the outcome.

Super Bowl Media Day

It happens every Tuesday before the Super Bowl. Thousands of media outlets from all over the world congregate on the gridiron to ask every question under the sun. It's called Media Day at the Super Bowl, or for Bill Belchick "The Worst Day of the Year." Every player from each of the two teams is asked a barrage of questions, some having to do with football others not. For example Coach Belichick was asked what he eats late at night during film sessions? To which he replied, "Anything with salt." Tom Brady was asked by a female reporter, "Would she marry him?" (Watch it here). Media Day does nothing more than provoke controversy and let us hear the answers to the same questions that have been asked all year. But with sites like Espn360.com streaming the video live, Media Day has taken on a whole new audience. It used to be that people would only hear about what was said at Media Day after they returned home from work or school, now with live video on all the time, people can pick it up instantly. If a player says something memorable or even worse, something terrible, a lot of people see it live. For those that don't, well I am sure that people that did will post the video on the internet shortly after the moment occurs. Media Day now becomes a huge deal to the players because instead of just being watched by the couple hundred or thousand reporters at any one given time, they can be watched by millions. Welcome to the Super Bowl in the 21st century. Enjoy.

Stub Hub

Before the rise of Stub Hub.com and Ebay, the only way to get tickets sometimes was illegally from a scalper. Now that these two sites have completely revolutionized the industry, tickets are being resold for every event on the planet. A few years ago the only way to go to the Super Bowl was to a) be really lucky b) work for a really rich company that was trying to impress people or c) win a contest on a sports radio show. Now if you want to fork over the money, (tickets start in the high $2000 range) you will be guaranteed a ticket. There is no having to listen to the same sports reporter talk in monotone about the same thing in the two weeks leading up to 42, instead you can be planning your itinerary in Glendale. Even though the tickets aren't cheap, it's the guarantee that's most impressive. StubHub has a policy that your tickets will arrive on time and if they don't they will buy them. All vendors in StubHub need to be approved and if you get a faulty ticket, StubHub will get you real ones. The Internet has revolutionized the news, entertainment, sports and now tickets. Enjoy.

Tom Brady: Does Anyone believe you are hurt?

For the last week and a half we have been hearing about Brady's walking cast. (Footage here. )
The former Super Bowl MVP was thought to have hurt his ankle in the second quarter against the Chargers. The footage that first aired on TMZ, and was picked up by pretty much everybody, shortly afterwards, which then made it a big deal about how he was hurt and how it would effect his status on Super Sunday. Let's get this straight, we are talking about Tom Brady here, a quarterback who defines winning He is playing in what could be the biggest Super Bowl ever, his team is undefeated, and if they win they could be called the greatest team that ever played the game. Do you really think he's hurt? Do you really think this is a big deal? It's not. Maybe if this was the regular season or maybe if he wasn't seen the very next day in wingtips (here). Let this injury go, he's fine, the only reason we are talking about this, is because there are two agonizing weeks between the conference championships and the Super Bowl.

Roger Clemens who are you trying to fool?

Arguebly one of the top three gretist right handed pitchers of all time was fingered in the Mitchell Report. We all know this by now. He has leveled a lawsuit against former trainer Brian McNamee, saying that his accusations in the report were false. How is he going to clear his name when it appears so many times in the report. (View it here). Clemens tried to claim his innocence by holding a press conference and playing a taped phone call in which Clemens was clearly trying to lead McNamee. (Hear the call here). Does Roger Clemens think the American people are going to buy the fact that he didn't take steroids or HGH? Does he really think that the taped phone call would convince us, that he was innocent? Clemens needs to buck up and face the music, I am a Yankee fan, and a Roger Clemens fan too, so it is hard for me to say he cheated, but if you look at the evidence it clearly points to that. Clemens has bulked up significantly throughout his career, specifically since 1998, when McNamee said he first injected Clemens. If his training partner Andy Pettitte can admit he did it, why can't the Rocket do the same. He will look a lot better than when he goes to Congress and either lies and commits perjury or tells the truth we all know. I know you are supposed to believe innocent until proven guilty, but with the state of baseball and the amount of evidence against him, how is he going to prove us otherwise?

One Crazy Saturday

It's January now and college basketball is in full swing. Last Saturday was one of the reasons you watch, a bunch of kids play the game. The number one team in all the land, North Carolina fell to rival Maryland on Tobacco Road. It was a back and forth contest the entire 40 minutes but Maryland pulled away with the 82-80 victory. Psycho T, a.k.a. Tyler Hansbrough had 17 points and 14 rebounds, but that was not enough as Maryland upset a team who could be cutting down the nets in San Antonio. Maryland was led by James Gist who had 22 points and 13 rebounds. The Terrapins weren't the only upset win of the day, as Southern California shocked U.C.L.A. Just like U.N.C., the number four Bruins fell at home. The Trojans were led by the "other freshman" Devon Jefferson who had 25 points and 9 rebounds. The most celebrated freshman O.J. Mayo scored 16 points in the biggest win so far of his college career. Kevin Love, of U.C.L.A. who has been called the second best freshman in the game, had 18 points and 12 rebounds. Mayo and Love hugged after the game, in what will certainly not be the last of these two's meetings on any level. In other games The Ohio State University (unranked) nearly pulled the upset of the number 9 Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville. Tennessee was knocked out of the Big Dance by the Buckeyes last year so it was nice for them to get revenge and bump up to the number 5 team in the country. Number 15 and 16, Mississippi and Pittsburgh respectively, were upset by conference rivals Auburn and Cincinnati. If this Saturday was any indication of how this season is going to look, we are all in for a treat.  

Welcome to my blog. I am senior at Northeastern University in Boston, finishing up school and getting ready to face the world. This blog is going to be about the exciting, fast paced world of sports with a focus in how new media is changing the game. Everything from college recruiting to instant replay, to injury reports and text messages, and how they are all shaping the game for the better or sometimes worse. Enjoy.