I'm not really the biggest fan of 'hey look what I'm doing or where I'm going' which might surprise a few given that I cover recruiting -- notorious for the high school athlete wanting everyone to know what they're doing on a daily basis. But over the last year I've quietly been trying to figure out my own "recruitment" and where I'd transfer to after leaving Seattle Central this December.
The pick is in: Washington State University...
This past spring I spent the weekend in Pullman to visit the campus, visit the Edward R. Murrow College of Communications and see if WSU was the place for me. The visit was a good one. My friend Chris enjoyed the fact they had Panda Express in the Cub and I enjoyed the home, country, small town feel.
Then this summer I went to visit UNC, Indiana and Villanova. Each offered their own unique experience and feel.
Villanova was a lot bigger in terms of the campus than I expected. It was a little depressing that the gates to the football stadium were open and the stadium looked like it couldn't hold more than 15,000. Not that I would be playing on that field but it's nice to go to a school with that big time feel and Villanova didn't offer that.
Next was a two day visit to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I can honestly say it was the best of all five visits I took. It was raining on the drive from Charlotte to Chapel Hill and while most might be annoyed with it, coming from the Pacific Northwest, it felt like home. Once I got on the campus it really hit home that this would be where I'd spend the next two to three years.
Kenan Memorial Stadium was as advertised and Carroll Hall, UNC's College of Communication, was incredible. It was a Sunday afternoon and school wasn't in session so I wasn't expecting the doors to be open -- they were and of course I let myself in. It's hard to put in to words just how impressive the school and the campus was.
What also helped was my meeting with Chris Roush, the senior associate dean of undergraduate studies, who introduced me to something I'd never heard of at any other school.The Hearst Award Program, which UNC has finished in the top seven of each year over the last decade. Something none of the other four schools could claim.
But I had to move on to my next visit, Bloomington, Indiana and Indiana University. Probably the most down to earth visit I had because I randomly found the school of journalism and proceeded to have a full tour and then a three hour meeting with one of the professors, just talking about journalism in today's world.
I left with at least a six inch stack [probably more] of newspapers from their student newspaper and a couple added connections to keep in touch with, whether I went to Indiana or not.
So that leaves four of the five schools I considered. The last, which wound up being my second legitimate visit of the five, to the University of Washington. Tally Swanson, who if you don't know her, is one of the most committed person to a school I've ever gotten to know. I'd been on the campus of UW more times than I can count yet she showed me aspects that I'd never seen and still floored me.
Even with my decision to go to Pullman and WSU Tally's one of those people I'll always call a good friend, to go along with Josh Bessex, who talked to me about The Daily [UW student newspaper].
Full Disclosure: UW's winter application ran from August to September 1, and having said that I missed the deadline and didn't apply.
So, with the decision to move from Bainbridge and Seattle across the state to Pullman that leaves the question will I still cover Washington. That answer is both yes and no. Given that WSU starts January 12th my last UW game will be December 14th vs Eastern Washington [Men's Basketball]. After that, outside of the Boise St. vs Washington game next September [so long as it doesn't get moved to Saturday], I won't be providing any more UW game coverage.
Having said that I will continue my coverage of Washington recruiting with 247Sports. So for all those worried about having to unfollow me because of my Cougars coverage need not to do so. My UW news will continue churning out.
I'll post a goodbye column [on my blog] when I actually leave. I've still got a few more Washington games ahead of me so no need for that just yet.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Monday, August 11, 2014
Fans Should Focus On Remorse, Not Fault In Tony Stewart, Kevin Ward. Jr Situation
In life there are crimes of hate, passion, instinct and accident. What happened on Saturday, August 8th in upstate New York, the death of 20-year old driver Kevin Ward Jr., is a tragedy that has sparked controversy from pundits to the non-racing fan. Whenever a life is taken there is always the instant reaction that goes over the top.
Monday, two days after the passing of Ward, the Sheriff announced that at the present time no charges will be filed against anyone involved in the situation. Tony Stewart has stayed away from press and in a statement Sunday expressed only remorse.
It is rightly so that the Sheriff's department is going against the growing common path in America and not rushing judgement or file charges against Stewart until the full facts of the case are examined. The court of public opinion, that's in large part to Twitter, will always be the official unofficial court of the people.
What remains incredible is the fact that people, like Tyler Graves, a sprint car drive who was in attendance when Stewart hit and fatally killed Ward, told Sporting News that Stewart could see Ward but that he didn't think it was intentional.
The quotes, told to racing reporter Bob Pockrass, seem to contradict each other.
"I know Tony could see him. I know how you can see out of these cars. When Tony got close to him, he hit the throttle. When you hit a throttle on a sprint car, the car sets sideways. It set sideways, the right rear tire hit Kevin, Kevin was sucked underneath and was stuck under it for a second or two and then it threw him about 50 yards."
Graves followed that up later in the interview by saying, "You never mean to do something like that. Kevin was pissed and he let Tony know. And Tony was trying to give the message back that he wasn't happy either. He went over the line with it."
The two things that stick out in his response are one, the fact that Graves is willing to put himself inside the car, inside Tony's head and then two follow it up by saying he didn't intentionally mean to do it but what he did do was over the line.
Full disclosure: Graves and Ward were very close friends and it was noted in the story by Pockrass that Graves got emotional talking about his friends death. Being emotional is understandable given the bond between the drivers but at that point you take the time to sit the interview out.
ESPN Nascar reporter Marty Smith said it best on Twitter and fellow ESPN college Colin Cowherd offered unbiased prospective on.
"He's not going out there to hurt anybody. I mean if there's any inclination that he's going out there to hurt somebody on purpose I would vehemently say no. Yeah the bad guy sells but because this has occurred we are discussing that side of Tony Stewart but you have to remember that somebody died and that's horrible," Smith told Colin Cowherd on TheThundering Herd podcast.
Cowherd asked Smith directly on the record about off the record talks he had with drivers who thought this is Stewart's fault that Ward is dead. Smith, is without question the best Nascar reporter and very connected within the sport so his answer is very telling.
"None that I've spoken to. I've spoken to several of them...I'm telling you man no B.S. the response from everyone is shock. Nobody is point fingers at anybody in terms of fault. Nobody is pointing at Ward and nobody is pointing at Stewart. Everybody is just really sad."
The last two sentences, no one is pointing fingers and everyone is sad is exactly the way it should be. A 20-year-old died defending, in the heat of the moment, what he loved doing and one of the sports best was behind the wheel. However, in that the only thing that matters in reality is a 20-year-old died.
We should be remorsing that fact that Ward is dead. Not rushing to say Stewart should be charged or saying it's Ward or Stewart's fault. For a sport that is built on machismo and being Billy Badass. We should let the Sherriff's office focus on the legal aspect of it and focus on remembering the life of Ward and see if there is anything that should be changed in the sport to prevent this from happening again.
As widely pointed out, this isn't the first time in racing. A driver getting out of his car and/or going after another driver in the pit or on the track, like Ward did, is something that has always been a part of the sport and nothing has been done to stop it.
Lets take the time to see if there is something that can be done to protect the life of present and future drivers instead of pointing fingers. Kevin Ward Jr. is dead and it's saddening. Rightly so no charges have been filed against Stewart, just two days after the death of Ward.
If, after all the evidence has been gather and the law enforcement believes that Stewart should be charged then that day will come when it does. If they feel there is not enough evidence and they don't charge him, that day will also come. But to force it or rush to that date is not the right thing to do now.
Monday, two days after the passing of Ward, the Sheriff announced that at the present time no charges will be filed against anyone involved in the situation. Tony Stewart has stayed away from press and in a statement Sunday expressed only remorse.
It is rightly so that the Sheriff's department is going against the growing common path in America and not rushing judgement or file charges against Stewart until the full facts of the case are examined. The court of public opinion, that's in large part to Twitter, will always be the official unofficial court of the people.
What remains incredible is the fact that people, like Tyler Graves, a sprint car drive who was in attendance when Stewart hit and fatally killed Ward, told Sporting News that Stewart could see Ward but that he didn't think it was intentional.
The quotes, told to racing reporter Bob Pockrass, seem to contradict each other.
"I know Tony could see him. I know how you can see out of these cars. When Tony got close to him, he hit the throttle. When you hit a throttle on a sprint car, the car sets sideways. It set sideways, the right rear tire hit Kevin, Kevin was sucked underneath and was stuck under it for a second or two and then it threw him about 50 yards."
Graves followed that up later in the interview by saying, "You never mean to do something like that. Kevin was pissed and he let Tony know. And Tony was trying to give the message back that he wasn't happy either. He went over the line with it."
The two things that stick out in his response are one, the fact that Graves is willing to put himself inside the car, inside Tony's head and then two follow it up by saying he didn't intentionally mean to do it but what he did do was over the line.
Full disclosure: Graves and Ward were very close friends and it was noted in the story by Pockrass that Graves got emotional talking about his friends death. Being emotional is understandable given the bond between the drivers but at that point you take the time to sit the interview out.
ESPN Nascar reporter Marty Smith said it best on Twitter and fellow ESPN college Colin Cowherd offered unbiased prospective on.
"He's not going out there to hurt anybody. I mean if there's any inclination that he's going out there to hurt somebody on purpose I would vehemently say no. Yeah the bad guy sells but because this has occurred we are discussing that side of Tony Stewart but you have to remember that somebody died and that's horrible," Smith told Colin Cowherd on TheThundering Herd podcast.
Cowherd asked Smith directly on the record about off the record talks he had with drivers who thought this is Stewart's fault that Ward is dead. Smith, is without question the best Nascar reporter and very connected within the sport so his answer is very telling.
"None that I've spoken to. I've spoken to several of them...I'm telling you man no B.S. the response from everyone is shock. Nobody is point fingers at anybody in terms of fault. Nobody is pointing at Ward and nobody is pointing at Stewart. Everybody is just really sad."
The last two sentences, no one is pointing fingers and everyone is sad is exactly the way it should be. A 20-year-old died defending, in the heat of the moment, what he loved doing and one of the sports best was behind the wheel. However, in that the only thing that matters in reality is a 20-year-old died.
We should be remorsing that fact that Ward is dead. Not rushing to say Stewart should be charged or saying it's Ward or Stewart's fault. For a sport that is built on machismo and being Billy Badass. We should let the Sherriff's office focus on the legal aspect of it and focus on remembering the life of Ward and see if there is anything that should be changed in the sport to prevent this from happening again.
As widely pointed out, this isn't the first time in racing. A driver getting out of his car and/or going after another driver in the pit or on the track, like Ward did, is something that has always been a part of the sport and nothing has been done to stop it.
Lets take the time to see if there is something that can be done to protect the life of present and future drivers instead of pointing fingers. Kevin Ward Jr. is dead and it's saddening. Rightly so no charges have been filed against Stewart, just two days after the death of Ward.
If, after all the evidence has been gather and the law enforcement believes that Stewart should be charged then that day will come when it does. If they feel there is not enough evidence and they don't charge him, that day will also come. But to force it or rush to that date is not the right thing to do now.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
The Genesis Of My Journalism Career
Several people have asked me over the years, how did you get your start or how did you get to be a writer for 247Sports [or any other site]. Well, occasionally I have put my past in laments terms but I decided to answer that question thoroughly for those who want to know.
Why I Wanted To Be a Writer:
My passion for writing started when I was around seven or eight years old. I would take two or three pieces of printer paper, fold them in half, and make a short story book. My writing was probably equal in quality to the "drawings" I added in...hint: there is a reason I took only two art classes in four years of high school.
At the same time I grew up loving sports. I didn't start playing sports until little league and needless to say the fact that I made an All-Star team one of those two years was only because my coach voted all of us to play. Not everyone made the team, but the coaches solid was the main reason.
Anyway, before this becomes about my failed baseball career...or my other failed sports endeavors in basketball and lacrosse, I'll get to the point. My body for some reason never held up more than a year. My knees were pretty much dead by the time I hit high school.
During that same time period I began to frequent the Seattle Times sports forums as an outlet for my ideas. Then one night I did a Google search that kicked off my career.
Free writing opportunities, the search was.
BleacherReport.com popped up.
I clicked on the link and wouldn't you know it all I needed as an email to log me in and BOOM! I was a "writer".
Scary thought. Me, at thirteen years old being allowed to write stories that actually could go somewhere. At the time CBS was partners with BleacherReport so there was potential.
The good old B/R days:
The phrases dumpster fire, **** show, and well the list goes on and on, are all ways of summing up the beginning of my career with BleacherReport.com. I recently did another Google search to see if my profiles [yeah I made a few] were still there. It's pretty telling my credibility back then when the picture I had was me and Lisa Gangle, now Kerney, at Bobby Engram's softball game at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Washington.
Just reading the titles of my articles should give you an idea of how bad it was: Seahawks Fourth Overall Pick Grade: OLB Aaron Curry A+ and Why Seneca Wallace Should Be the Seahawks' Long-Term QB.
I will say this, BleacherReport gave me the platform that I needed even thought I didn't deserve it. There were good times and bad times. While working at B/R I got to do a job shadow with Seattle Times Seahawks beat writer [at the time] Danny O'Neil. Danny was one of the first legitimate writers that became a mentor for me.
I told Danny I wrote for B/R and he had heard of the site, which again gave me that platform to sound at least recognizable even if I wasn't credible. It basically got my foot in the first door and it led to arguably my best writing opportunity with Andy Benoit at NFLTouchdown.com to write solely about the Seattle Seahawks.
Lets Run up the Score at NFLTouchdown.com
Andy Benoit, who created his own website NFLTouchdown.com, also worked for the New York Times fifth down blog and CBSSports. It gave me an opportunity to hone in my writing skills, get feedback from a bright young journalist and writer in Benoit and it also gave me a good platform to still publish work on.
I started out just writing about the Seahawks but as Andy became more impressed with my work he allowed me to branch out and also gave me unique interview opportunities that showed me a whole new side of writing.
At the same point I began to grow out of my shell and take myself seriously in terms of being a credible journalist. Some of the interviews I was able to conduct were set up by Andy and some I set up on my own. My first was with Vince Papale, the real man behind the story not Mark Wahlberg.
I also interviewed Gregg Valentino, who also sent me his book Death, Drugs, and Muscle and appeared on E:60. Without question the almost two-hour interview I did with Valentino was the most unique and intriguing interview I've ever done. He was a personable guy with an incredible story that had nothing to do with the NFL. It was an experience interview flat out.
The biggest name interview I did during my two years at NFLTouchdown.com was with former Washington Redskins QB Joe Theismann.
The culmination of all the interviews and articles I wrote for NFLTouchdown.com was the feeling of being credible. I had no credentials but I felt confident in my abilities and that in a sense came back to haunt me and why I left the site.
I felt I had a good relationship with Andy and when I had learned that I wasn't considered for a promotion to managing editor it irked me a lot because he had said that I was the best writer he had. In hindsight I didn't really care for being an editor. I liked writing. Looking back I don't know why I made any deal of it but the fall out was one I regret without a doubt.
In the end Benoit now just writes for Sports Illustrated, the MMQB and I'm entering my third year covering UW athletics. We both moved on but a tip for younger writers...don't burn bridges and especially over petty, nonsensical things.
Continuing the process at RantSports.com:
After the fall out at NFLTouchdown.com I moved on to RantSports.com. The beauty of Rant was that I could do more than just NFL. I could and did write about the Seattle Mariners, UW Huskies, Seattle Sounders and anything else really.
What was different about my writing at Rant was I felt more free and as such I believe my writing improved. I could write a game story, but I could also tell a story column style. I also continued to get interviews and actually had my first two credentialed experiences working for Rant. I set both up, one with UW football and one with the Seahawks, as a part of my senior project.
UW allowed me to actually ask a couple questions to coach Steve Sarkisian after the Huskies destroyed Colorado 52-7. I also got to interview Sean Parker, Keith Price and a handful of others to really get a feel for what it's like as a credentialed reporter. For the Seahawks, I was just happy to be sitting third row in the press box and taking the game in and seeing how the pro's do it.
I wasn't allowed to ask any questions but I got to meet Seattle Times columnist Jerry Brewer and by that point I had also had a job shadow with Sounders FC beat writer Josh Mayers, who I consider to be a good friend and mentor still to this day. On that job shadow I got to meet Steve Kelley and he jokingly asked if I was the old UW center named Lars.
Fast forward to the Colorado vs UW game and the Seahawks vs Redskins game, he still remembered me. My conversations with Steve were some of the best I've had with a fellow journalist and we even had lunch to just talk about being a journalist, what it takes, my plans and all that. One of the best days of my life was just talking to Steve for an hour and hearing what he had to say.
"Beat a story til you can't beat it anymore," he said after the Seahawks game.
When the Joe Paterno story came up he asked me if I had written anything about it. I did. He didn't agree with my view point, a wait-and-see approach, but he said he liked what I had to say and the way it was written.
Those experiences were more valuable to me than any writing job I had, have, and will have in the future hopefully.
I left Rant sports for my first credentialed job my senior year in high school, think about that.
The RealDawg era begins...
Well, here we are. In the winter of my senior year I enquired to Ruth Robbins, the publisher of Realdawg.com about possible writing opportunities. She allowed me to work spring ball during my spring break. By the end of those two to three weeks she hired me on full time and the rest is history.
I started writing in the spring of 2012 and now it's 2014 and I'm still there, now on the 247Sports network. It's been a fun ride and hopefully one that will continue to stick for the next few years.
The next decision...
Currently I'm enrolled at Seattle Central Community College and I've got the fall quarter as my sixth and final one at the school. That means come January there will be a new school for me. Right now I'm looking at the University of Washington, Washington State University, University of Florida, Indiana University, Butler University and the University of Texas at Austin.
I will know around October or November which school that will be. Ideally UW would be the school because I'm already involved in covering UW athletics but eventually writers do switch beats. This blog will serve as the reporting grounds for my "official visit reports" in the fall.
Anyway, there you have it. For those who wanted to know how I got to where I am now that's the story. Hope you enjoyed it.
Why I Wanted To Be a Writer:
My passion for writing started when I was around seven or eight years old. I would take two or three pieces of printer paper, fold them in half, and make a short story book. My writing was probably equal in quality to the "drawings" I added in...hint: there is a reason I took only two art classes in four years of high school.
At the same time I grew up loving sports. I didn't start playing sports until little league and needless to say the fact that I made an All-Star team one of those two years was only because my coach voted all of us to play. Not everyone made the team, but the coaches solid was the main reason.
Anyway, before this becomes about my failed baseball career...or my other failed sports endeavors in basketball and lacrosse, I'll get to the point. My body for some reason never held up more than a year. My knees were pretty much dead by the time I hit high school.
During that same time period I began to frequent the Seattle Times sports forums as an outlet for my ideas. Then one night I did a Google search that kicked off my career.
Free writing opportunities, the search was.
BleacherReport.com popped up.
I clicked on the link and wouldn't you know it all I needed as an email to log me in and BOOM! I was a "writer".
Scary thought. Me, at thirteen years old being allowed to write stories that actually could go somewhere. At the time CBS was partners with BleacherReport so there was potential.
The good old B/R days:
The phrases dumpster fire, **** show, and well the list goes on and on, are all ways of summing up the beginning of my career with BleacherReport.com. I recently did another Google search to see if my profiles [yeah I made a few] were still there. It's pretty telling my credibility back then when the picture I had was me and Lisa Gangle, now Kerney, at Bobby Engram's softball game at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Washington.
Just reading the titles of my articles should give you an idea of how bad it was: Seahawks Fourth Overall Pick Grade: OLB Aaron Curry A+ and Why Seneca Wallace Should Be the Seahawks' Long-Term QB.
I will say this, BleacherReport gave me the platform that I needed even thought I didn't deserve it. There were good times and bad times. While working at B/R I got to do a job shadow with Seattle Times Seahawks beat writer [at the time] Danny O'Neil. Danny was one of the first legitimate writers that became a mentor for me.
I told Danny I wrote for B/R and he had heard of the site, which again gave me that platform to sound at least recognizable even if I wasn't credible. It basically got my foot in the first door and it led to arguably my best writing opportunity with Andy Benoit at NFLTouchdown.com to write solely about the Seattle Seahawks.
Lets Run up the Score at NFLTouchdown.com
Andy Benoit, who created his own website NFLTouchdown.com, also worked for the New York Times fifth down blog and CBSSports. It gave me an opportunity to hone in my writing skills, get feedback from a bright young journalist and writer in Benoit and it also gave me a good platform to still publish work on.
I started out just writing about the Seahawks but as Andy became more impressed with my work he allowed me to branch out and also gave me unique interview opportunities that showed me a whole new side of writing.
At the same point I began to grow out of my shell and take myself seriously in terms of being a credible journalist. Some of the interviews I was able to conduct were set up by Andy and some I set up on my own. My first was with Vince Papale, the real man behind the story not Mark Wahlberg.
I also interviewed Gregg Valentino, who also sent me his book Death, Drugs, and Muscle and appeared on E:60. Without question the almost two-hour interview I did with Valentino was the most unique and intriguing interview I've ever done. He was a personable guy with an incredible story that had nothing to do with the NFL. It was an experience interview flat out.
The biggest name interview I did during my two years at NFLTouchdown.com was with former Washington Redskins QB Joe Theismann.
The culmination of all the interviews and articles I wrote for NFLTouchdown.com was the feeling of being credible. I had no credentials but I felt confident in my abilities and that in a sense came back to haunt me and why I left the site.
I felt I had a good relationship with Andy and when I had learned that I wasn't considered for a promotion to managing editor it irked me a lot because he had said that I was the best writer he had. In hindsight I didn't really care for being an editor. I liked writing. Looking back I don't know why I made any deal of it but the fall out was one I regret without a doubt.
In the end Benoit now just writes for Sports Illustrated, the MMQB and I'm entering my third year covering UW athletics. We both moved on but a tip for younger writers...don't burn bridges and especially over petty, nonsensical things.
Continuing the process at RantSports.com:
After the fall out at NFLTouchdown.com I moved on to RantSports.com. The beauty of Rant was that I could do more than just NFL. I could and did write about the Seattle Mariners, UW Huskies, Seattle Sounders and anything else really.
What was different about my writing at Rant was I felt more free and as such I believe my writing improved. I could write a game story, but I could also tell a story column style. I also continued to get interviews and actually had my first two credentialed experiences working for Rant. I set both up, one with UW football and one with the Seahawks, as a part of my senior project.
UW allowed me to actually ask a couple questions to coach Steve Sarkisian after the Huskies destroyed Colorado 52-7. I also got to interview Sean Parker, Keith Price and a handful of others to really get a feel for what it's like as a credentialed reporter. For the Seahawks, I was just happy to be sitting third row in the press box and taking the game in and seeing how the pro's do it.
I wasn't allowed to ask any questions but I got to meet Seattle Times columnist Jerry Brewer and by that point I had also had a job shadow with Sounders FC beat writer Josh Mayers, who I consider to be a good friend and mentor still to this day. On that job shadow I got to meet Steve Kelley and he jokingly asked if I was the old UW center named Lars.
Fast forward to the Colorado vs UW game and the Seahawks vs Redskins game, he still remembered me. My conversations with Steve were some of the best I've had with a fellow journalist and we even had lunch to just talk about being a journalist, what it takes, my plans and all that. One of the best days of my life was just talking to Steve for an hour and hearing what he had to say.
"Beat a story til you can't beat it anymore," he said after the Seahawks game.
When the Joe Paterno story came up he asked me if I had written anything about it. I did. He didn't agree with my view point, a wait-and-see approach, but he said he liked what I had to say and the way it was written.
Those experiences were more valuable to me than any writing job I had, have, and will have in the future hopefully.
I left Rant sports for my first credentialed job my senior year in high school, think about that.
The RealDawg era begins...
Well, here we are. In the winter of my senior year I enquired to Ruth Robbins, the publisher of Realdawg.com about possible writing opportunities. She allowed me to work spring ball during my spring break. By the end of those two to three weeks she hired me on full time and the rest is history.
I started writing in the spring of 2012 and now it's 2014 and I'm still there, now on the 247Sports network. It's been a fun ride and hopefully one that will continue to stick for the next few years.
The next decision...
Currently I'm enrolled at Seattle Central Community College and I've got the fall quarter as my sixth and final one at the school. That means come January there will be a new school for me. Right now I'm looking at the University of Washington, Washington State University, University of Florida, Indiana University, Butler University and the University of Texas at Austin.
I will know around October or November which school that will be. Ideally UW would be the school because I'm already involved in covering UW athletics but eventually writers do switch beats. This blog will serve as the reporting grounds for my "official visit reports" in the fall.
Anyway, there you have it. For those who wanted to know how I got to where I am now that's the story. Hope you enjoyed it.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Michael Sam vs Tim Tebow, Its Not the Same
Full Disclosure: I fully believe in God, I have zero problems with gays or homosexuality. I support gay marriage.
Now that you know where I'm coming from, probably the most balanced of anyone out there, it's time to bring my head out from the wall I just slammed in through. Florida State sophomore defensive end DeMarcus Walker sent out a tweet that bothered me not from a gay/not gay standpoint or a religious standpoint.
It struck me because it made zero sense.
"Y'all praise Michael Sam for being gay but y'all mocked Tim Tebow for being a Christian. Smh#Society" -- @livinglegend_44 (DeMarcus Walker)
I'm all for freedom of speech. However lumping everyone into one side or another is unfair to those who didn't mock Tebow for being a Christian or praise Sam for being gay. Some people, myself included, looked at both situations for what they are and were.
For Tim Tebow, he was one of the most impressive college quarterbacks in a spread offense in college football history. Key words: college and spread offense. Urban Meyer, Tebow's head coach at Florida, did not run a pro style offense and had he been in a pro style offense I don't believe the results would be the same.
Tebow, thanks to Skip Bayless, ESPN and other media outlets, was selected in the 1st round, No.25 overall by the Denver Broncos. In reality he was selected about four rounds too early. If you remove Tim Tebow and then leave the body of work and call him John Q Quarterback he goes in the fifth or sixth round.
The Broncos, in that scenario, would realize he doesn't fit their system and he becomes just another fifth/sixth round pick to be cut, which happens every year and no one makes a big deal of it. But because he was a first-round pick the Broncos traded him to the Jets for a fourth and sixth round pick. Tebow wouldn't be drafted in the fifth round because he is a Christian.
If that was the case there would be a lot of picks forfeited because a fair amount of every draft has prospects who are devout in their faith. The people that were annoyed with Tim Tebow because of his faith are people that don't believe in faith or they have their own individual reason. That was not the majority of NFL fans.
The Jets and Patriots did not cut Tebow because he was devout in faith. They cut him because he simply is not built to be in the NFL. He's not a starting quarterback, he's a second or third string quarterback at best.
The problem with Tebow was he was hyped too much by the mainstream media and he was not what was being sold. Leading up to the 2010 NFL Draft everything you heard was Tebow, Tebow, Tebow and....Tim Tebow.
The 2014 NFL Draft was Manziel, Manziel, Clowney, Manziel. Neither of those names are Michael Sam.
Michael Sam was projected between the 4th and 7th round and once he came out as the first openly gay player that changed absolutely nothing about where he would go. Now, having said that, being the first openly gay player in the NFL is monumental and something that won't ever be forgotten.
Sam went in the 7th round, No.249 overall, to the St. Louis Rams. The round fit for his skills, the team fit based on need and location. It was a perfect ending to one aspect of the story and the start to first chapter in a new book.
It wasn't New York. It wasn't Dallas. It wasn't Miami. It was 126 miles away from Colombia, Missouri, where Sam went to college. St. Louis. Not a big media market. It's also a market that knows his story and has been told already.
Sam will probably have his story stick for a couple days this week as he makes the rounds and then he will be a 7th round pick with a great story and an opportunity to make a career in the NFL.
After Tebow was drafted ESPN became TMZ. It was Tebow, Tebow, Tebow. The difference between Tebow (Christian) and Sam (gay) is the topic. America is still working on getting things together on same sex marriage and homosexuality. We've made some advances with states legalizing it. But we still have a ways to go.
Tim Tebow was out in front about his faith. Nothing wrong with that. I watch about seven or eight players go into the end zone before each Washington home game, get down on one knee, "Tebowing" and then finish their warmups. Yet that doesn't make the game story or pre-game/post-game notes.
The fact is it's America. Tebow was overblow in every aspect by mainstream media. Sam, however, has not been. Yet his story is more rare and more impactful. Society is still working the kinks out and there will always be people who don't like homosexuality and there will also be people who don't like those who are out there with their faith.
That's just a fact.
The key is finding a balance. Michael Sam has shown to provide the power of his story without being the No.1 topic before and after the draft. It's a touchy subject for most. Nothing is perfect.
But please, lets save the Tim Tebow vs Michael Sam debate. It's not a debate.
Now that you know where I'm coming from, probably the most balanced of anyone out there, it's time to bring my head out from the wall I just slammed in through. Florida State sophomore defensive end DeMarcus Walker sent out a tweet that bothered me not from a gay/not gay standpoint or a religious standpoint.
It struck me because it made zero sense.
"Y'all praise Michael Sam for being gay but y'all mocked Tim Tebow for being a Christian. Smh
I'm all for freedom of speech. However lumping everyone into one side or another is unfair to those who didn't mock Tebow for being a Christian or praise Sam for being gay. Some people, myself included, looked at both situations for what they are and were.
For Tim Tebow, he was one of the most impressive college quarterbacks in a spread offense in college football history. Key words: college and spread offense. Urban Meyer, Tebow's head coach at Florida, did not run a pro style offense and had he been in a pro style offense I don't believe the results would be the same.
Tebow, thanks to Skip Bayless, ESPN and other media outlets, was selected in the 1st round, No.25 overall by the Denver Broncos. In reality he was selected about four rounds too early. If you remove Tim Tebow and then leave the body of work and call him John Q Quarterback he goes in the fifth or sixth round.
The Broncos, in that scenario, would realize he doesn't fit their system and he becomes just another fifth/sixth round pick to be cut, which happens every year and no one makes a big deal of it. But because he was a first-round pick the Broncos traded him to the Jets for a fourth and sixth round pick. Tebow wouldn't be drafted in the fifth round because he is a Christian.
If that was the case there would be a lot of picks forfeited because a fair amount of every draft has prospects who are devout in their faith. The people that were annoyed with Tim Tebow because of his faith are people that don't believe in faith or they have their own individual reason. That was not the majority of NFL fans.
The Jets and Patriots did not cut Tebow because he was devout in faith. They cut him because he simply is not built to be in the NFL. He's not a starting quarterback, he's a second or third string quarterback at best.
The problem with Tebow was he was hyped too much by the mainstream media and he was not what was being sold. Leading up to the 2010 NFL Draft everything you heard was Tebow, Tebow, Tebow and....Tim Tebow.
The 2014 NFL Draft was Manziel, Manziel, Clowney, Manziel. Neither of those names are Michael Sam.
Michael Sam was projected between the 4th and 7th round and once he came out as the first openly gay player that changed absolutely nothing about where he would go. Now, having said that, being the first openly gay player in the NFL is monumental and something that won't ever be forgotten.
Sam went in the 7th round, No.249 overall, to the St. Louis Rams. The round fit for his skills, the team fit based on need and location. It was a perfect ending to one aspect of the story and the start to first chapter in a new book.
It wasn't New York. It wasn't Dallas. It wasn't Miami. It was 126 miles away from Colombia, Missouri, where Sam went to college. St. Louis. Not a big media market. It's also a market that knows his story and has been told already.
Sam will probably have his story stick for a couple days this week as he makes the rounds and then he will be a 7th round pick with a great story and an opportunity to make a career in the NFL.
Tim Tebow was out in front about his faith. Nothing wrong with that. I watch about seven or eight players go into the end zone before each Washington home game, get down on one knee, "Tebowing" and then finish their warmups. Yet that doesn't make the game story or pre-game/post-game notes.
The fact is it's America. Tebow was overblow in every aspect by mainstream media. Sam, however, has not been. Yet his story is more rare and more impactful. Society is still working the kinks out and there will always be people who don't like homosexuality and there will also be people who don't like those who are out there with their faith.
That's just a fact.
The key is finding a balance. Michael Sam has shown to provide the power of his story without being the No.1 topic before and after the draft. It's a touchy subject for most. Nothing is perfect.
But please, lets save the Tim Tebow vs Michael Sam debate. It's not a debate.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Extending A Hand Starts An Opportunity
We are each born with two arms but more often than not in life we somehow think in our heads that we have four arms, or sometimes more. For me I realized this early on when I started writing back when I was 13. While the game has changed -- I searched Google for something along the lines of a free writing opportunity.
Bleacher Report.com was the result of the search.
Back then all you needed to be a "writer" for Bleacher Report was internet access and an email. Literally. But hey, it worked well for me. When I say well I mean it gave me a start. By no means was my work well done.
But the ability to publish work there led me to work under Andy Benoit at NFLTouchdown.com. Benoit now works for Sports Illustrated and the New York Times. That tutelage, along with the opportunity to interview professional athletes for the first time really gave me that true start.
Before this turns into a biography I'll steer it back to my main point: Take the opportunities presented to you, reach out to writers in your area that you admire and read on a regular basis. As for pointers.
I was able to get a handful of job shadows with local media in Seattle including Danny O'Neil and Josh Meyers of the Seattle Times, Paul Silvy of KING5 TV and others. Those one day interactions alone gave me an opportunity to understand what I was getting into.
My conversation with Meyers at his desk was most memorable simply because it was just a conversation between an established writer and one who was still working his way up.
"Clearly you aren't in it for the money," Meyers told me with a laugh.
Journalism, really in any form, isn't about the money. If you have a knack for writing and really enjoy the aspect of being the person relaying news between the athlete and the fan then journalism is for you.
I reached my hand out one arm at a time. First to Danny O'Neil, then to Paul Silvy and then to Josh Meyers. I reached my hand out to the University of Washington when I was 17 and asked to be credentialed for one game as a part of my senior project.
Washington blanketed Colorado, I actually met Dave "Softy" Mahler for the first time in the press box after calling into KJR for several years as a fan. Steve Kelley surprisingly remembered me after meeting him on my first job shadow with O'Neil at the Times.
A month later I extended my hand again, this time asking a lot more and was graciously granted a credential by the Seattle Seahawks organization for my senior project. Sitting third row, which wasn't bad because you can actually see more of the field, was an incredible experience.
I wasn't allowed to ask any questions post game but just seeing how a press conference is handled at the NFL level as compared to the college level was interesting. For UW I waited until after the press conference to ask Steve Sarkisian two questions.
Both experiences just added to the pile of work I had accrued over the past four years. Now each had extended was a risk but it was one I needed to take. The biggest hand extension was for RealDawg.com, asking if the site needed any assistance covering spring practice.
Now it wasn't the typical site. Even though it was and still is credentialed there wasn't an on-the-scene beat writer like the Times or other sites had. So there was an opening. But even as an unpaid intern I would have taken the opportunity.
I parlayed the experience of press conference interviews and my previous experience into covering spring practice and eventually became the full time beat writer. The last three seasons I've covered almost every Washington home football game.
But it's all about extending the hand. It's not extending a hand like a 12-year-old at a Justin Bieber concert. It's being respectful and not blitzing every single media member in your local area.
If you're a high school student and you like the idea of being a writer as a career then take the opportunities given to you. Work on your school newspaper staff, something I didn't but probably should have done. Depending on what you're writing about send maybe one or two clips to a local writer who shares the same topics and get their feedback.
Life is all about connections. Some is still based on merit, but a lot is based on connections and developing relationships. Each person you know is a resource. You can return to them for advice if the relationship is correctly built. Where you should consider going to school, possible internships, anything that is within reason.
But it takes extending your hand to make it possible.
Bleacher Report.com was the result of the search.
Back then all you needed to be a "writer" for Bleacher Report was internet access and an email. Literally. But hey, it worked well for me. When I say well I mean it gave me a start. By no means was my work well done.
But the ability to publish work there led me to work under Andy Benoit at NFLTouchdown.com. Benoit now works for Sports Illustrated and the New York Times. That tutelage, along with the opportunity to interview professional athletes for the first time really gave me that true start.
Before this turns into a biography I'll steer it back to my main point: Take the opportunities presented to you, reach out to writers in your area that you admire and read on a regular basis. As for pointers.
I was able to get a handful of job shadows with local media in Seattle including Danny O'Neil and Josh Meyers of the Seattle Times, Paul Silvy of KING5 TV and others. Those one day interactions alone gave me an opportunity to understand what I was getting into.
My conversation with Meyers at his desk was most memorable simply because it was just a conversation between an established writer and one who was still working his way up.
"Clearly you aren't in it for the money," Meyers told me with a laugh.
Journalism, really in any form, isn't about the money. If you have a knack for writing and really enjoy the aspect of being the person relaying news between the athlete and the fan then journalism is for you.
I reached my hand out one arm at a time. First to Danny O'Neil, then to Paul Silvy and then to Josh Meyers. I reached my hand out to the University of Washington when I was 17 and asked to be credentialed for one game as a part of my senior project.
Washington blanketed Colorado, I actually met Dave "Softy" Mahler for the first time in the press box after calling into KJR for several years as a fan. Steve Kelley surprisingly remembered me after meeting him on my first job shadow with O'Neil at the Times.
A month later I extended my hand again, this time asking a lot more and was graciously granted a credential by the Seattle Seahawks organization for my senior project. Sitting third row, which wasn't bad because you can actually see more of the field, was an incredible experience.
I wasn't allowed to ask any questions post game but just seeing how a press conference is handled at the NFL level as compared to the college level was interesting. For UW I waited until after the press conference to ask Steve Sarkisian two questions.
Both experiences just added to the pile of work I had accrued over the past four years. Now each had extended was a risk but it was one I needed to take. The biggest hand extension was for RealDawg.com, asking if the site needed any assistance covering spring practice.
Now it wasn't the typical site. Even though it was and still is credentialed there wasn't an on-the-scene beat writer like the Times or other sites had. So there was an opening. But even as an unpaid intern I would have taken the opportunity.
I parlayed the experience of press conference interviews and my previous experience into covering spring practice and eventually became the full time beat writer. The last three seasons I've covered almost every Washington home football game.
But it's all about extending the hand. It's not extending a hand like a 12-year-old at a Justin Bieber concert. It's being respectful and not blitzing every single media member in your local area.
If you're a high school student and you like the idea of being a writer as a career then take the opportunities given to you. Work on your school newspaper staff, something I didn't but probably should have done. Depending on what you're writing about send maybe one or two clips to a local writer who shares the same topics and get their feedback.
Life is all about connections. Some is still based on merit, but a lot is based on connections and developing relationships. Each person you know is a resource. You can return to them for advice if the relationship is correctly built. Where you should consider going to school, possible internships, anything that is within reason.
But it takes extending your hand to make it possible.
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