MLB to Raise PED Penalties

MLB and Players Agree to Heightened PED Penalties

     This content is curated from another blog into my own ideas

The MLB and its players have agreed to create harsher penalties for PED users. The penalties for first offense are being raised from a ban of 60 to 80 games, the second from 100 to 162 games, and the third offense will remain at a lifetime ban from the game.

In another change, if a player is caught using during the season, he can no longer participate in any postseason play for that year, no matter when the suspension ends.

It’s clear now more than ever that the players and the MLB as a whole are working ultimately to prevent PED use completely, and in the meantime, their goal is to weed out of their game those users that still remain.

The coverage of PED’s  has been a huge media  issue going all the way back to 2001, and recently Johnny Peralta, Alex Rodriguez, and Ryan Braun are just some of the big names that have been part of the ongoing PED controversy.

 

Getting rid of PEDs is obviously the way to create a cleaner game, and the MLB has now taken strong and direct action to prevent illegal substance abuse once and for all.

I believe that the media coverage of the PEDs issue last year, especially with Alex Rodriguez,  is at the center of the action the MLB has taken.  The MLB does not want the bad reputation of a dirty game. Nonetheless, some players still may risk ruining their careers by using PEDs.

The MLB also does not want the coverage of such drug abuse to negatively influence younger ahtletes who might use illegal substances because they know it will improve their performance.  PEDs now will be less of an issue for the MLB, or so they hope, because the league will be less subject to media coverage on this issue.

These rule changes are very important for the MLB players and the MLB itself because I believe with these kinds of rules and penalties in place, we will see fewer and fewer PED users, and thus there will be far less need for media coverage.

 

 

 

Media Coverage of March Madness

Q & A with Salve basketball player

 

March Madness is the biggest college basketball event of the year,  and it has fans filling out brackets from around the country in attempt to predict the winners in each round.  The tournament gives fans a chance to follow their favorite college teams and players in the race to capture the NCAA Championship.

The media coverage is crazy surrounding the tournament, hyping up the teams and players that look like they might break out and win the entire tournament.

To get some more insight I asked a Salve Basketball player, Josh Hohlfelder, some questions about the media coverage of the college basketball phenonemon that everyone knows as March Madness.  He had some interesting things to say.

      Q – Do you think the media coverage of March Madness is too extreme;  if so,  how?

      A – I believe that the media coverage of March Madness is so extreme first  because of the popularity of college basketball overall and because of the whole fantasy / bracketology aspect of it all. I personally love watching the games and all of the media coverage. I can see someone who is  not as big of a basketball fan as myself finding it extreme, however.

      Q – Do you think there is too much attention and pressure on the athletes to perform by the media.

     A – I feel that reaching and playing in the NCAA tournament is every college basketball player’s dream. There is obviously pressure on all of these highly talented and recruited players to perform, but any player would say that playing in those types of games and environments makes the game more enjoyable to participate in. I myself was fortunate enough to play in the Division III NCAA tournament my freshman year at Salve, and it is something that I will never forget.

     Q – Are there players that receive too much or too little coverage by the media?

     A – This year especially, with so many “freshman phenoms” playing in college basketball, the fans get really excited about how special these guys really are. Many of these players will play in the NBA for many years and will be covered and scrutinized more than they are now. I can imagine that all of the media attention can be distracting for the players and their teammates and coaches, but with the technology we have today, I do not see the media coverage ever becoming less intrusive on players’ lives.

     Q – What kind of changes could be made to improve the coverage?

     A – The coverage of the games themselves is very good, especially during March Madness. Fans can go online and watch any game that they want as it is going on. As far as the coverage of the athletes themselves, I feel like the NCAA has done a good job of not allowing players to be in commercials and things of that nature. I believe that if the coverage can be maintained at the same level it is now, the athletes will continue to succeed.

     Q – Is the coverage of top players detrimental to their possible success in the future?

     A – The coverage of top players could hurt the players’ careers if the pressure on them to succeed becomes too great. Especially when the athletes try to meet the media’s expectations of themselves instead of focusing on the things that they can control. Through their play, the top players who give everything that they have and are the best teammates that they can be are the ones who will be the most successful in the future.

     Q – Who do you think will win the Tournament?

     A – I picked Florida to win the bracket this year. They play really well together as a team, and they have guys that can do a little bit of everything. It will be interesting to see how far they are able to go.

We will find out who the winner is as March Madness will come to a close on April 7, when the National Championship is played.

 

Duke Upset In March Madness

Mercer Takes Down Blue Devils in 1st Round Shocker

One of college basketball’s best, the Duke Blue Devils, have fallen in an upset in the first round of March Madness to the Mercer Bears.  The Bears attacked Duke on the inside which was a clear miss-match of both size and strength.  Duke’s stars simply did not show up in this loss in what was, seeing that it is the NCAA tournament where every game only gets bigger, one of the biggest games of the year for the Blue Devils.

Duke had arguably the best player in all of college basketball this year in Jabari Parker, and Parker was not really a factor in the game.  The coverage of Parker and Duke’s other big stars should have been more of a focal point.  The coverage of Parker’s draft stock and whether or not this is a big game issue was somewhat underwhelming as well.

I understand that Duke is a team of young players right now; however, over time we’ve seen plenty of young players right out of high school come into the college scene and take right over.

Parker did do this throughout the year as he shined for Duke, but other players in past tournaments, such as Anthony Davis, have won the title in the first year.  I feel more questions should be asked about Parker and his possible draft position.

A ton of credit goes to Mercer and to how they played in the game; they were terrific.  Mercer took the ball inside at will and simply outplayed Duke overall with their size, strength, and experience.  They clearly were the better team on game day and proved it by what they did on the court against Duke.

However, the question of Parker’s draft position remains unanswered, and to say that that position is not affected as of now is wrong in my opinion because it could be.  We will see how Julius Randal and/or Andrew Wiggins fare in the tournament. If either of them has a huge tournament, then Parker could see his draft stock fall if he does decide to enter the draft.

I actually see Parker staying in school and looking for redemption in year two at Duke.  The coverage of Parker needs to take a more critical stance than what we are seeing in the media right now.

Under The Radar: Alexander Ovechkin

Alexander Ovechkin under covered in 2013-2014 NHL season

Alexander Ovechkin is having another stellar season for the Washington Capitals, his first really solid season in a couple years now.  Ovechkin has flown under the radar thus far is would seem as the media has not really put the spotlight on him even with his league leading 44 goals this season.

Ovechkin is not seeing the same publicity as when he first came into the league and although he went through a two year slump he now is back to being the best goal scorer the NHL has.

The “Great 8”, as he is known to Capitals fans, has had a tremedous season and is on pace to score more than 50 goals which is considered amazing in today’s NHL as not many players can do it.  Recent hockey coverage of Crosby, the Olympics, and a few other stories have caused coverage of Ovechkin to decrease when it should be at its peak now that Ovechkin is once again a top player in the league.  The media should pick up the coverage of this player now that he is the best goal scorer today.

I see three reasons why Ovechkin should be a consistent headliner for the NHL:

1. The publicity should be on the rise as the NHL heads towards the playoffs with Ovechkin going for another 50-goal season and trying to lead his team to the Stanley Cup Finals.
2. The coverage has been shockingly low, and it would be great for the league to hype up the Ovechkin vs. Crosby matchup, both in terms of this season’s stats and given that heading into the playoffs, they might well end up facing each other.
3. As one of the best players in the NHL today, Ovechkin should receive more publicity in a season where he could be the only player to reach 50 + goals.

Round-Up: Most Covered Athletes

The Top Five Athletes Most Covered by the Media

Across the board in professional sports, the media tends to cover those athletes who seem to be the most popular at a given moment in an attempt either to capitalize on someone’s success or failure…as the case may be.  The media makes sure that we focus on these athletes consistently .

The favorites of the media are portrayed better than everyone else in the league, even when they do not necessarily winning.  I believe the coverage of these athletes by the media can sometimes be taken too far, and then other times it is not taken far enough.  Here are my top 5 choices for most covered athletes across the major sports by the media:

                                         1.  Peyton Manning – NFL

Yes, Peyton Manning gets more coverage than Lebron James and is more often than not presented in a positive light…even when this kind of treatment is undeserved.  Look at the stats–Manning has been to 3 Super Bowls at this point in his career and has only come out on top once, yet with the media coverage Manning gets, you would think he had actually won 5 Super Bowls.  Let’s face it; the media is rarely critical of Manning, even when he fails to win in the playoffs and chokes in the big games.

Manning is just coming off another Super Bowl loss to the Seahawks in which he and the Broncos broke nearly every major offensive category this season.  All we hear is how great he is, and he is hyped up to win every time he gets on the field. What the media does not accept (or refuses to acknowledge), however, is that most of the time, he just doesn’t win the big games.

Manning has been knocked out of the first round of the playoffs 8 times, with an overall record of 9-11 and only one Super Bowl victory.  That is a huge dissapointment for one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time;  everyone seems to notice except most of the media.

                                    2.  Lebron James – NBA

Lebron James certainly comes in at number two in terms of media coverage and media hype.  He is talked about almost year round even when basketball is not in season.  The media cover James’ every move both on and off the court.   He is obviously a huge superstar and the face of the entire NBA, but the media’s, and thus the public’s, fixation with him goes way beyond basketball.

The fact that James has won back-to-back championships has clearly made him the focus of a media frenzy.  Sure, he will go down in history as one of the greatest players in professional basketball, but with all the coverage you would think he is the only one–past or present–to have racked up the points, the plays, and the wins that he has, and that is just not the case.

James will probably end up in the top 3 players in basketball history by the end of his career, but for now he is still behind the likes of Bird, Magic Johnson, Kobe, and others.  Time to limit the coverage of James to that of one talented player among others.

                                           3.  Alex Rodriguez – MLB

Alex Rodriguez is still in the top 5 athletes covered in the media, due in large part to the MLB’s recent decision to suspend A-Rod  for using steroids.  The Rodriguez coverage is clearly a controversial story that the media wants to keep in the forefront of sports news.  It has all the elements of great drama.  Here is one of the greatest baseball players of all time whose reputation has been badly tarnished, first by the steroid issue and, especially of late, by the injuries of a player whose career is obviously on the wane.

Since A-Rod will be suspended during the 2014 season, there might be less talk about him on a day-to-day basis.  However, given the controversy that has often surrounded him as a player, he still is one of the most covered athletes in the media in my eyes and will continue to be until he retires.

                                   4.  Sidney Crosby – NHL

Sidney Crosby is clearly the most covered athlete in today’s NHL.  He is actually seen as the best player in the world by many, and the reason for this can be found  in the points he has racked up in regular season play.  However, the truth is that he has only 1 Stanley Cup to show for his great performance on the ice, and he has not been on a winning team since 2009.

Yes, it is hard to win back-to-back cups, but when you are considered the best in the sport, you should have more to show for your efforts, especially considering Crosby plays for one of the top teams in the league, the Pittsburg Penguins.

The coverage of Crosby is sometimes over the top, but for the most part, it is fair.  No one sees him on a par with a Gretzky, for example.  Nonetheless, Crosby has the potential to be one of the greatest of all time, although in my view, he probably won’t catch up to Gretzky.

                               5.  Tiger Woods – PGA

Since his early days as a golf phenom, Tiger Woods has always been highly coveted by the media and has had an amazing career in golf, breaking all kinds of records and winning every major tournament on the professional golf tour…some of them more than once.  For years the coverage of Woods overshadowed that of every other player in golf, even the good ones.

Although the issues in his personal life over the last few years have changed the public perception of him and have resulted in Woods not playing anywhere near the way that he once did, the media still sees him as a top story, often keeping the focus on Woods rather than highlighting other golfers.  Even when he is playing badly, ESPN shows consistently where  Woods is in the standings.  If he’s in the tournament, the media follows him closely.

At this point,the coverage of Woods could easily be curtailed because more often than not he isn’t even close to winning.  In spite of the fact that he hasn’t won a major tournament in years, the “Tiger watch” is still a focus by the reporters covering the play-by-play.  Woods is clearly on the downside of his career, and the media should be focusing on who is winning more than on how Woods is doing.

Coverage of Lebron James

Broken Nose Keeps James Out of Action

Being recognized as the best basketball player in the NBA today has its privileges and its benefits.  Just ask Lebron James, power forward for the Miami Heat.  Look at the coverage of James in the media; consistently over- the-top coverage has without question made him  the face of the league.  This is a man with amazing athletic ability and tremendous power on the court, so when anything happens to the superstar, the media is all over it. For example, James suffered a broken nose just about a week ago and missed a game against the Chicago Bulls because of the injury.

What’s interesting from my perspective, though, is that although he is a powerhouse as a player, he ended up missing a game because of the broken nose, something that lesser players, both in basketball and in other sports, would not have done.  James chose to miss the Bulls’ game, drawing more attention to his absence as well as his injury.

The coverage of James’ broken nose had people talking more about the mask itself that he wore when he took the court for the next game.  There seemed to be little questioning of why he didn’t just put the mask on for the Bulls game–as other players have done–instead of having to miss a game.  James’ missing the game, however, kept the focus on him.  In my opinion, James often seeks out the attention that he gets; he wants to be on everyone’s mind all the time.

The truth is, there has never been more coverage of a player wearing a protective mask anywhere in the league–maybe even in all of sports–than when Lebron chose to use a black mask instead of the standard clear mask.  Much of the coverage seemed to be an opportunity to “crack your jokes now about James because this is the only chance you might get.”

Nonetheless, when a mask that James is wearing overshadows the actual game, you have to think about why this is.  Lebron wants to be the center of attention, and more often than not, he gets that attention.  The Heat as a team have won 9 out of their last 10 games, closing out February on a high note, but the masked man has gotten more attention than that success.

Welcome To My Blog!

Welcome to my blog, Sport Spin!  I am Christian Lawber, and here you will find different articles about the coverage of the major sports in season with various round ups, Q & A’s, coverage of curated content…and more!  Sport Spin is targeting college-age students as well as recent college graduates.

I will be looking to write not just about what is going on on a daily basis in various sports, the games, the scores, the trades, the million-dollar contracts and the like, but specifically about how the media chooses to cover all of the different teams, players, and match-ups in their respective leagues.

I want to share my thoughts with those of you who are sports fans and who follow a lot of the same things that I do.  Sport Spin is a chance for me, as a 20-year-old college student, to look at the coverage of sports by the media and discuss with young people in my age group how we feel about different aspects of this coverage, the good as well as the bad.