As I mentioned in a previous article, the exposure of Sports Media could drive us to the point of tuning out. As much as I would love to get away from that topic, I won't be satisfied until I drive one more point home.
As ESPNU's marathon broadcast of National Signing Day, the coverage of the NFL/MLB Draft, the premature scholarship offers and the debut of NASCAR phenom Joey Logano has proven to the sports mass that youth is in. While this is now real shock to anyone considering the fact that if you are in an NFL RB that is 28 years old you are "aging", it's getting more extreme by year.
It wasn't so long ago, that the only real hype would come towards a young rookie as being "the next big thing". However thanks to recent website creations (YouTube, MySpace) and the internet itself, the real "future" is now in the Collegiate and High School ranks (with the occasional middle school star getting some publicity). So much money is being invested in these young athletes, that they do not get the proper time to adapt to facing much older opponents or even maintaining a healthy social life.
The MLB Draft proves to everyone that a high school athlete has to make an important decision. While we usual guffaw at those who "threaten" their potential bosses by saying "If you don't sign me for X amount of dollars, I'll GO TO COLLEGE!", they do have every right to say that. It's known that for the most part, the MLB Draft is the biggest crapshoot of them all. If you are getting drafted out of high school, you have nothing but a diploma to your name. Due to the rigors of a professional season (whether that be in the Minor Leagues or Majors), you won't be able to go back to College until your playing days come to an end. Sometimes the end comes earlier for others and with the rising costs of college tuitions, they end up COMPLETELY flaming out. By going for the best possible dollar amount, you are guaranting yourself a safe amount of money just in case something goes wrong.
Of course it's easy for us, as diehard fans, to hold grudges against some of these young athletes as we want to see them play immediately. Or if we are from an opposing team, we just say "just go to college and try again in 4 years". But sometimes, skills can erode if injury happens or just some who can't make the transition to facing older players. Let's face it, a 18-year old prospect is much more exciting than a 22-year old prospect who's drafted in Round 16. Then, if aforementioned prospect doesn't pan out, we saw "at least he has a college education in his hand". But look at some of these sports schedules. Whether its the offseason or season, these students probably focus fully on baseball than their schoolwork. You can't blame them either. Unfortunately, most schools don't give a lick if you have a low GPA or even minor discipline problems; as long as you can give them positive exposure on the field. Some athletes are in school for one reason; sports. If you put in a major chunk of your school days into sports, your academics can easily suffer. Plus with the sports world the way it's scrutinized today, you need to even have very high social skills in order to thrive off the field. If you can't get along with others do to the pressures of working out all the time, how are you going to talk to a reporter who's criticizing you after going 0-3, with 2 Ks and one error in the field?
With the drama surrounding "prima donnas" such as Chad Johnson or even Kyle Busch, some wonder why these guys have the snobbish attitude. Busch was annointed as being the "next big NASCAR star" when he was just 16 years old. I'm at that same age and if someone was telling me that I'd be the next big star, I would sure as hell have all the confidence in the world. The drama that surrounded Terrelle Pryor's college choice was so severe, I wondered how he could possibly go to sleep soundly without worrying about a PSU fan beating down his door. Pryor seems to have a great head on his shoulders, thankfully, but with all the attention focused on other athletes like him; it's no surprise to see them get frustrated when they are out of the spotlight. In the NASCAR world, you can even get signed to a driver development deal BEFORE you are in the 6th grade as Matt Martin found out. When will this end?
It's not a secret anymore that we are in a society and world that sure loves its sports. Whether it involves touchdowns, home runs, goals, wrecks or poker chips; there is a sport out there for everyone. Also there is a great possibility that your sport will be on TV in some shape or form and your favorite website will have its own section dedicated towards it. You may also be able to take control of your favorite players, athletes, drivers, etc and put them all on the same team!
But will there ever be a day when we all say "Enough is Enough!"? With the influx of blogs, fantasy leagues, negative publicity and more sports entertainment TV packages; it's quite easy to get daily updates on your favorite athlete. High-sophisticated methods of cheating, undercover drug embassies and even animal cruelty violations have been thrown at our eyes on even Local TV. As every draft year (if your sport indeed, has a draft) you learn about more and more character issues or prima donna type attitude traits. Athletes hold out to gain an extra million or more!
Yet, while we may discuss this negatively towards our friends, family, co-workers or strangers; we always are the first ones to get the Text Message Alert on our cellphone to tell others the most recent update. Onto the gyst of the article, can sports theoretically burn us out? Can the fans ever enjoy an offseason from our favorite sport? I take pride in being at least more than "just a fan" when it comes to the NFL, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, College Football, IRL and even the X-Games and will always watch March Madness or even a good tennis match. I'll even watch Fox Sports Soccer Net to catch an MLS or Premiership League if I'm bored. But will there ever be a time and place where we'd ever turn off the TV? I think not, but there could be a time where we just "X" out of any website as we won't care if Plaxico Burress doesn't practice or if Tony Romo tries out for the US Open..in May.
I personally believe there are four factors that could easily eat away at our sports cravings.
1)-Cheating
Throughout the past calendar year, more and more cheating allegations and stories have been taking place. Whether it be the Formula One spy scandal that rocked the European racing world, Spygate (Thankfully it probably is nearing its end) and the Mitchell Report (plus the battle between Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee), there have certainly been enough stories that have sickened us. Cheating has tarnished some of the sports world's biggest figures (Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Fernando Alonso) and in some eyes have even downgraded an NFL Dynasty (Patriots) with the "*" label. While cycling, sans Lance Armstrong, had little known athletes; it's legacy for the next few years at the least has been destroyed by doping allegations. After about 5 years of steroid investigations, baseball's steroid cloud is finally starting to ebb away. But will there be another SpyGate and what will that do to the NFL's image? What about a NASCAR scandal similar to the Formula 1 spying scandal? Will America finally start to tune away for different options?
2)-Over Exposure
This is more directed to the game of football. The Sports Society has long-adapted to baseball, hockey, basketball, etc. being played multiple times per week. But football has usually been known as a two-day pony (Sundays and Monday Night) or in the instance of the collegiate part one-day a week (Saturdays). But now we have Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and the occasional mid-week NCAA game. We aren't too far away from having a football game on every day of the week in the middle of the regular season! If injuries continue to pile up, will the nation start to become "Football'd Out"?
3)-Fantasy Leagues
While I've calmed down a bit regarding the subject, I am still a part of plenty of fantasy leagues in different sports. However, there are now shows dedicated to the fantasy world as well as bottom line tickers that give you fruitless updates (Peyton Manning, 1/3 for 8 yards). You can even buy up-to-the minute sports updates that give you live scores for your FANTASY LEAGUE! Soon TV ratings will slowly start to slow down as America is checking their fantasy stat trackers. Fantasy Updates track the player's status at each practice and those dreaded game-day decisions have people rising early in the morning to make sure they sit down Dallas Clark now even though he practiced all week. There will be a time where we learn that a certain player's child cried all through the night making their Saturday walkthrough practice "sluggish" and thus calling into question their performance the next day.
4)-Off the Field Actions
The past two weeks alone have notably seen the following occur. A future NFL Hall of Famer in the middle o####un investigation. A relatively well-known running back allegedly boating under the influence OR being beat up for no reason. A former NFL player throwing a dry cleaning bag over their two year old son's face. While all of those problems have been limited to the NFL, most sports have had the "thug" disease for quite sometime; eventually it will be hard to root for a former convict again. Also it's quite possible to see some great players (or potential ones) being shuffled out of their respective leagues.
In conclusion, I doubt sports will ever get tiring for any fan. But one day, it is possible for us to slowly start tuning out. But no matter what sports does, we will always be back.
We've heard the same ole' story plenty of times before, in fact most infamously from former NBA player, Charles Barkley. Barkley said "I'm not a role model" and the media went into a firestorm. While Barkley has humbled down since his playing days ended, it appears all athletes are following his lead.
Throughout the NFL, NBA, MLB and even the obscure sports such as swimming; we always hear of the latest DUI, DWI, taser incident or the possession of drugs that's currently the biggest issue in sports, after HGH.
The latest incident is not an arrest but more of a statement. Allen Iverson, point guard and All-Star for the Philadelphia 76ers, recently skipped a "mandatory" team function and will be "fined accordingly", from head coach Maurice Cheeks mouth. Iverson has been through these incidents, including a 2001 arrest from gun charges and the famous "we talkin' 'bout practice!" press conference. Now, of course, we do not know the full story surronding this so we should be waiting to hear Iverson's statement but by judging the reaction of Cheeks, I'm not willing to bet this was from #### surgery complications.
What have we witnessed just these last few months for instance? The "betting ring" that involved former NHL player Rick Tocchet as well as Wayne Gretzky's wife, Janet Jones (that was in my county). The DUI arrest and season-long suspension of former Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings WR, Koren Robinson. How about even taking this a step deeper and looking at the arrest of pitcher Ugueth Urbina, in Venezuela, for get this; allegedly slicing someone with a knife and pouring gasoline on him! That's beyond barbaric, that's attempted murder!
Now, in my humble opinion, we can NOT expect all athletes to be great role models, or even sufficient ones at best. They are not above the law, and it's at least satisfying to see them pay the consequences as well (some of the time) like the regular folk. But, even if they are drunk or sober, should we at least expect some decent conduct in their spare time. These guys are doing what some of us hope or used to hope, happen to us. That is to get the opportunity to make a great salary doing something we love for a portion of the year! But then we see the actions of the college levels that include the brawl between Miami and Florida International as well as Dartmouth and Holy Cross. Also the many sagas of Marcus Vick and the infamous Duke LAX scandal (though I'm not certain on anything there).
The point is, they do feel like they are either above the law or are average folk and should be treated as such when they do crimes such as this. But is it wrong to expect some good out of today's world? Why can't there be more athletes like Warrick Dunn, LaDainian Tomlinson, D-Wade, David Dellucci or Mike Richards?
But I would guess that some of them have the same thought process:
Guess what, ladies and gentleman? I'm going to start the earliest draft article in preparation for the 2007 NFL Draft! I had some free time on my hands so I decided to take a closer look at measureables.
The best QB prospect at this very minute is Brady Quinn of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Why, you may ask is Quinn the best pro prospect since Carson Palmer? Could it be his above-average arm strength? How about his decent mobility or his ND pedigree? Maybe, but what's really driving the scouts crazy is Quinn's 6'4, 227 lb. stature. While you will find taller QBs, this is something that is always looked at. The typical NFL OL probably stands around 6'4+ in some cases which is pretty much, the most important group of 300+ pound behemoths in America.
Now what about the QB Quinn is most likely to finish behind in the Heisman Trophy race? Troy Smith of Ohio State may just be the one who disproves the "prototypical size" theory. I for one, am buying his pro stock at the very minute of a late 1st round to mid-2nd round draft slot. Before the Ohio State alumnis and fans start jumping on me, let me tell you this. He is "listed" as 6'1, 215 but grumblings from the draft world indicate him possibly listing as low as 5'11. That feature may alone just cost him a first-round pick but there are plenty of other reasons why we may not see Mr. Smith land that high. Smith's main weakness, after his size, is him throwing the deep ball into coverage. It's been seen this year that Ted Ginn Jr. is one of the most electrifying players in college football as of right now. But there have been times that Ginn has had to SLOW down to catch one of Smith's attempted deep-balls. His accuracy is possibly better than Quinn right now from short range but as you get deeper, the edge goes to Quinn. Also, there is some talk of him having greater talent around him than most of the other QBs. We'll let time tell on this one.
Overall, I'm also on the Brady Quinn bandwagon in terms of his NFL potential. Now this year, Smith is by far the better collegiate player but let's see him beat USC and he'll get some good hype. My earlybird sleeper? Kevin Kolb out of Houston in the Conference-USA divison.
Hey, everyone! Sorry for being gone for as long as I was but I've had some stuff to deal with and one of those items was the annual family trip to Disney World. Earlier in the year I did an "Observations in Eagles Country" and I thought the trip to WDW would be perfect for a blog piece.
In our yearly trip to Disney World, I tend to usually make the most out of the nice FL heat. Such as staring at the girls in the pool, going to the ESPN Club (come on Fox Sports, you got to make one of these!) and watching TV at the room. Disney World doesn't have many kids rides, but rather "family attractions" as one smiling, Cast Member named "Jean" told me. But don't get me wrong, Splash Mountain and Space Mountain are both pretty fun. Anyway, back to the story; I was on Splash Mountain when I heard the people behind me in a strong New York accent.
"I didn't know that the Sabres were a hockey team in New York"
"Mularkey should coach them, three goals in a hockey game is actually good".
I laughed to myself thinking, yup I'm in the cult known as Disney World and when you hear this dry humor, it's a difference from the happiness surronding the park.
If anyone of you are going to Disney World, may I recommend the hotel the "Carribbean Beach" resort. Not for the food or the nice little kids (if I see another little kid cutting me in line, I'll clothesline them Donovin Darius style), but for the poolside bar "the Banana Cabana". I had a non-alcholic Pina Colada, best thing I bought there, and watched the NBA Draft Lottery there. It's a fact that most people that go to WDW are from FL but there were 0, 0 Orlando Magic fans. I asked one guy who he liked and he replied with; "I'm from Orlando and I personally hate the Magic as does a lot of my friends and family, we like the Sonics".
I bought an Orlando Sentinel for my parents everyday but you read more on the Indy 500 and NCAA LAX rather then the Magic, Buccaneers, Central Florida Golden Knights or the Lightning. They did have a Nick Griesen and Maurice Drew (seperate from each other) article in the Sentinel but not much else on the Jags.
What strikes me is that there is a difference between Philly fans, Indiana fans and Orlando fans. One would kill for their team (and anyone who disagrees with that), one has a great NFL team but are still an NBA town and the other loves their football (I did see a lot of Jags fans) but appears to despise their NBA team. But you can say this about any town in the continental US.
DISCLAIMER:
"Please do not take this article in anyway as something serious or against Orlando fans or people. I love the city and this should be only taken with a grain of salt by one fan in the world of Disney. I love Darko Milicic, Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson (St. Joe's style!) and respect the team"
Also, I'm working on a fantasy football site, could use opinions:
I am Joe D, and would love to be in sports in any capacity. I am a fan of the Philadelphia Phillies, Flyers, Sixers and the Indianapolis Colts. I run my own sports message boards that I encourage you all to join!
My message boards:
http://z14.in visionfree.co m/Sports_Net/ index.php?act =idx
