Chris and I hit a little bump in the road for our rugby story. Chris only has the next two Wednesdays off at his job an I have class on Wednesday evenings. So he will have to go out and do the video work by himself and I'll have to do the interviews of coaches and players via phone. I'm very aggravated by this, but it can't be helped.
The boys' rugby coach has gotten back to us and said he will be happy to help out. I'm also in the works to talk with the girls' coach and players also. I think everything will fall into place, but I wish I was able to go out with Chris.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Another Chicago sports team to follow?
A brand new professional sports league is in the works and Chicago meets the criteria in order to support a new franchise. The National Rugby League has been formed and is looking to begin play in 2010. The league would like to have teams in eight cities and have a 14-week regular season, equally splitting home and away games. Rugby is popular in European and try-outs will be open to both American and international athletes.
Chicago has been identified as one of 14 cities meeting the NRL's initial criteria to support a rugby franchise. Among these include an existing rugby infrastructure, an existing Major League Soccer facility capable of holding 10,000 to 25,000 people, and support of local government. A high school rugby club league exists in the suburbs of Chicago and is approaching the post-season. Hopefully I'll be able to bring you more information in my next story to be published at beyond-the-game.com. Check out my current story on the Web site now!
Chicago has been identified as one of 14 cities meeting the NRL's initial criteria to support a rugby franchise. Among these include an existing rugby infrastructure, an existing Major League Soccer facility capable of holding 10,000 to 25,000 people, and support of local government. A high school rugby club league exists in the suburbs of Chicago and is approaching the post-season. Hopefully I'll be able to bring you more information in my next story to be published at beyond-the-game.com. Check out my current story on the Web site now!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
San Fran no different than Chicago
It seems as though the San Francisco 49ers will have as much trouble with their quarterback situation as the beloved Chicago Bears. Alex Smith took a salary cut in a restructured contract and will compete against Shaun Hill for the starting spot. According to a San Francisco Chronicle story, Smith has undergone surgery on his shoulder twice and is optimistic how it will pan out over minicamp starting Mar. 20.
So it seems as though the journalists in San Fran can be just as critical of their hometown NFL team as the Chicago counterparts. And I say just as and that's it. Chicago journalists are almost too critical of the Bears in my opinion. I think there is a fine line between being a journalist, objectively covering the wheelings and dealings, and being a fan, so wrapped up in the team one can't see outside the box.
On to another sport: another San Francisco Chronicle article focused on Giants' catcher Buster Posey. Apparently the only thing the former Florida State stand out needs is experience calling his own pitches behind the plate. I read this and thought: What?! Is this typical in college baseball, to have coaches signal the catcher from the dugout on which pitches should be thrown? I was mind boggled. I went to a small D-II school and our catchers called their own games. I also worked for a wood bat summer league, and those catchers called their own games as well. I never thought someone would enter the majors having done. Fortunately for the Giants, Posey seems willing to learn and has all the other fundamentals to have a successful career.
So it seems as though the journalists in San Fran can be just as critical of their hometown NFL team as the Chicago counterparts. And I say just as and that's it. Chicago journalists are almost too critical of the Bears in my opinion. I think there is a fine line between being a journalist, objectively covering the wheelings and dealings, and being a fan, so wrapped up in the team one can't see outside the box.
On to another sport: another San Francisco Chronicle article focused on Giants' catcher Buster Posey. Apparently the only thing the former Florida State stand out needs is experience calling his own pitches behind the plate. I read this and thought: What?! Is this typical in college baseball, to have coaches signal the catcher from the dugout on which pitches should be thrown? I was mind boggled. I went to a small D-II school and our catchers called their own games. I also worked for a wood bat summer league, and those catchers called their own games as well. I never thought someone would enter the majors having done. Fortunately for the Giants, Posey seems willing to learn and has all the other fundamentals to have a successful career.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
A little life motivation never hur
For our collaborative package with the broadcast students, my group is doing a profile on Steve Granata, a motivational speaker. Granata uses the sport of basketball to teach elementary school children about some of life's most important lessons.
I saw Granata's show Wednesday afternoon at an elementary school in Elgin, IL. Showing off Harlem Globe Trotter-esque tricks, liking spinning the ball on his finger, Granata explains his dream of doing such tricks and how he got to where he is today.
Granata has been doing his Totally Courageous Basketball Experience full time for nine years, doign over 200 shows a year at elementary and middle schools. A couple of times he says he has dropped the ball and hit some of the kids, but that doesn't stop him from doing it.
Using basketball as a metaphor, Granata presents his three life rules: give your best, never give up and believe in yourself. Simple things to teach children, but better things to remind adults about. These are three concepts we're all taught when we're very young, but I think sometimes along the way we lose sight of it in the rat race. I think any of my classmates can say they have failed on one or all three of these rules at some point.
Lesson learned from my trip to Elgin: remember these three rules for this class, and everything else I'm doing, and maybe things won't be as stressful.
I saw Granata's show Wednesday afternoon at an elementary school in Elgin, IL. Showing off Harlem Globe Trotter-esque tricks, liking spinning the ball on his finger, Granata explains his dream of doing such tricks and how he got to where he is today.
Granata has been doing his Totally Courageous Basketball Experience full time for nine years, doign over 200 shows a year at elementary and middle schools. A couple of times he says he has dropped the ball and hit some of the kids, but that doesn't stop him from doing it.
Using basketball as a metaphor, Granata presents his three life rules: give your best, never give up and believe in yourself. Simple things to teach children, but better things to remind adults about. These are three concepts we're all taught when we're very young, but I think sometimes along the way we lose sight of it in the rat race. I think any of my classmates can say they have failed on one or all three of these rules at some point.
Lesson learned from my trip to Elgin: remember these three rules for this class, and everything else I'm doing, and maybe things won't be as stressful.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Where will all the people go?
This was to be the main question surrounding Chicago's bid for the 2016 summer Olympics. It was the biggest concern for International Olympic Committee members because of Chicago's somewhat faltering mass transit system. And when I say somewhat faltering, I'm being extremely nice.
Anyone riding one of the seven train lines or dozes of buses during any of the rush hour periods will tell you it is not a pleasant experience. Factor in hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Olympic athletes, staff and fans, and you've got one hot mess. The Chicago Tribune reported today that no major upgrades will be necessary should the city win the bid this October.
But another issue I think the city will have to address is where will the residents of the city be moved to when the building of the Olympic stadium begins. A colleague of mine did a story about the stadiums for class last year and actually informed one of the Chicago Park District pool managers that his pool would be the location for the Olympic swimming facilities. A Chicago Sun-Times article stated the swimming facility would originally be in Washington Park and has now been moved to Douglas Park. Most of the venues, with the exception of tennis, will be constructed on the city's south side, known for its poverty and violence. I hope the city's intentions of placing the venues here will be honorable and the sites would be used for after school programs and such after the games end.
It could potentially be a repeat of what the city had to develop while tearing down the high rise housing projects. Where to put a significant amount of people for both short and long periods of time is never an easy task. Always a political hot potato question, I don't know if the city has thought about this.
Anyone riding one of the seven train lines or dozes of buses during any of the rush hour periods will tell you it is not a pleasant experience. Factor in hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Olympic athletes, staff and fans, and you've got one hot mess. The Chicago Tribune reported today that no major upgrades will be necessary should the city win the bid this October.
But another issue I think the city will have to address is where will the residents of the city be moved to when the building of the Olympic stadium begins. A colleague of mine did a story about the stadiums for class last year and actually informed one of the Chicago Park District pool managers that his pool would be the location for the Olympic swimming facilities. A Chicago Sun-Times article stated the swimming facility would originally be in Washington Park and has now been moved to Douglas Park. Most of the venues, with the exception of tennis, will be constructed on the city's south side, known for its poverty and violence. I hope the city's intentions of placing the venues here will be honorable and the sites would be used for after school programs and such after the games end.
It could potentially be a repeat of what the city had to develop while tearing down the high rise housing projects. Where to put a significant amount of people for both short and long periods of time is never an easy task. Always a political hot potato question, I don't know if the city has thought about this.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Baseball still great...
Even as some would say baseball will not recover from Alex Rodriguez's positive steroid test from a few years back, I still say baseball is great. And must I remind everyone A-Rod is not the first league star to test positive (remember Barry Bonds or that one guy named Mark McGwire?) Some of my earliest memories involve baseball, specifically my beloved St. Louis Cardinals. My grandfather was a die hard Cardinals fan and when the game came on TV, nothing else mattered. Well maybe the ice cream breaks during commercials but that's about it. He hated the TV announcers, calling Mike Shannon "Mush Mouth." So most of the time the TV was muted and Jack Buck blasted out of the radio beside him. One year for Father's Day, my sister and I gave him an umpire doll with Velco arms, legs and head as a means of venting his frustration at officials.
My mom sat four rows from the very top of old Busch Stadium (pause for moment of silence) when she was eight months pregnant with me. At a game at the tender age of three, I stood up on my dad's lap and yelled, "Kill the umpire!" This in turn prompted Dad to say I had been watching too many games with Grandpa. Now my family keeps the Cardinal fan tradition alive with an annual game in a party suite at new Busch.
The point I am trying to make is most baseball fans have been following the game for so long to be completely turned off by something like A-Rod's admission. There is so much more to the game, too much history, to say baseball is in serious trouble. If I would guess, baseball could be in more trouble with the economic situation than this drug test issue...only time will tell.
My mom sat four rows from the very top of old Busch Stadium (pause for moment of silence) when she was eight months pregnant with me. At a game at the tender age of three, I stood up on my dad's lap and yelled, "Kill the umpire!" This in turn prompted Dad to say I had been watching too many games with Grandpa. Now my family keeps the Cardinal fan tradition alive with an annual game in a party suite at new Busch.
The point I am trying to make is most baseball fans have been following the game for so long to be completely turned off by something like A-Rod's admission. There is so much more to the game, too much history, to say baseball is in serious trouble. If I would guess, baseball could be in more trouble with the economic situation than this drug test issue...only time will tell.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Week 2
Looking at the Guide to the South Course story, I can definitely see how much reporting went into it and how much reporting my group will have to do for our project. Our group has switched to a story about James Augustine from the 2005-2006 University of Illinois team that made it to the NCAA championship that year. Augustine was drafted by the Orlando Magic, but has not received much playing time. He is considering moving to Spain to get the playing time he wants. We will need to gather information from family, Augustine himself, teammates past and present, and coaches. Our group has already put feelers out for interview opportunities and copies of footage. We have a lot of work to do but are very excited this new story idea came up!
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