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Category: Commentary

Sometimes you have to move on…

… and that time has come for me.

At the end of this week, I’ll be packing up my life in Cleveland, and moving to Baltimore to work for the Baltimore Ravens digital media team.

Growing up as a sports fan, it has been a dream of mine to work in the NFL, and this job gives me the unique opportunity to fulfill that goal with one of the best franchises in the pro sports.

October 27, 2011 | Commentary, NFL, Social Media, WEWS

ESPN’s new social media policy: Don’t break news on Twitter

ESPN gets flak for just about everything they do. Fair or not, the “Worldwide Leader” has their every move questioned, critiqued and analyzed, but that’s the price that comes with sitting at the top of the sports food chain.

The company’s updated social media policy is no different.

Soon after ESPN released its amended social networking policy for talent and reporters, the Twittersphere took the company to task–specifically for one guideline.

August 25, 2011 | Commentary, ESPN, Journalism thoughts, New Media Thoughts, Social Media, Sports Marketing, twitter

Banning Twitter is the easy way out for college coaches

Social media is part of college. The most prominent social media platform was invented at a college. By a college student. For college students.
It’s engrained in the college culture, and is a central means of communication for people in their late teens and early 20s.

The problem, however, is when those college kids using social media are high profile athletes who generate millions of dollars for their college institutions. Then things get a little more complicated.

To deal with the challenges of (student) athletes using social media–specifically Twitter–an increasingly popular strategy for college coaches has been to simply ban athletes from tweeting. It’s the easiest and most painless approach to control what information players put out there for public eyes to see.

August 24, 2011 | Commentary, NCAA, New Media Thoughts, Social Media, Sports, Sports Marketing

NFL’s slippery slope: Pryor decision protects league’s free farm system

One of the longstanding–but mostly unspoken–relationships in professional sports is between the NFL and NCAA. They’re separate entities, but the NFL reaps the benefits of college football providing a free farm system capped off with made-for-TV draft.

The NFL knows its has a cozy deal–one that the other professional leagues wish they could match–and the league showed on Thursday that it will do everything possible to protect that partnership.

August 19, 2011 | Commentary, Football, NCAA, Sports

Journalism branding: Buzzword doesn’t change the goal

Branding.

It’s become the popular buzzword in the media business, as journalists young and old work to stay relevant in a challenging and evolving climate. In the past few years, the push from news managers, editors, and professors has been for journalists to view their work as the development of a brand, rather than an endless stream of content.

August 4, 2011 | Branding, Commentary, Journalism thoughts, New Media Thoughts

Mark Cuban and allowing online media access

This is a response to a blog from Mark Cuban about the role of the online media in NBA locker rooms. I would suggest reading that before reading my response. Also, several people have already weighed in on this issue (here, here, here),  and I read a number of posts before publishing my own.

In 2011, the debate of web-only reporters vs. traditional media is dead. I thought.

Online news organizations have risen to the top of media world, and some of the most prominent, respected journalists are employed by companies that never print a newspaper or broadcast a daily news program.

April 25, 2011 | Commentary, New Media Thoughts, Social Media, Sports Marketing

Cavs give fans what they always wanted

CLEVELAND–This was what Cleveland fans wanted all along.

Hustle. Energy. Hard fouls.

It all showed something that Cavs fans didn’t see during that first game against LeBron James and the Miami Heat. Heart.

March 30, 2011 | Basketball, Commentary, Game coverage, WEWS

Loss to Kentucky ends historic career for team’s seniors

NEWARK, N.J.–The journey for the three seniors on Ohio State’s team was supposed to end with cutting down the nets in Houston. Instead, it came to a sudden halt in Newark, N.J. as Kentucky’s game-winning shot with 5.4 seconds left dashed the Buckeyes’ hopes of a national championship.

“You never think about it ending,” said David Lighty, a Villa-Angela St. Joseph’s graduate. “Especially the way that it did.”

March 26, 2011 | Basketball, Commentary, Game coverage, WEWS

Reflections on the last four years of covering Ohio sports

Sometimes it’s easy to overlook the recent success of Ohio sports. People have grown accustomed to the championships, post-season runs and individual accolades, almost to the extent that we take them for granted.

Bobcats fans have been spoiled lately.

The past four years have truly been a golden era for Ohio Athletics. With post-season berths, national attention and individuals going on to play professionally, the Bobcats have enjoyed team and individual success on an unprecedented level for Ohio athletics.

June 9, 2010 | Athens News, Baseball, Basketball, Commentary, Football

Done with the MAC, Ohio men now face Georgetown in NCAA first round

It started with a surprising overtime victory in Muncie, Ind. It ended with cutting down the nets in Cleveland.

In between, there was plenty of excitement, as the Ohio men’s basketball team carved its way through the Mid-American Conference Tournament and punched its ticket to the Big Dance for the first time since 2005. Ohio is slated to play Georgetown in the Midwest Bracket on Thursday. Ohio is a 14th seed while Georgetown, which lost the Big East final in a heartbreaker to West Virginia on Saturday, is a third seed.

March 15, 2010 | Athens News, Basketball, Commentary, Game coverage
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