Class Review

One of if not my favorite class that I have taken here at Assumption. Sports are an enormous part of my life, so being able to go to class and talk about different sports and write about them or individual athletes was awesome. It honestly didn’t even feel like a was going to class. I took journalism in high school and didn’t love it, so I was worried about the writing aspect of the class, but I actually thought it was a good experience to write that much for this class. I have already recommended the course to countless people and will continue to do so. If I have another chance to take a class with Professor Nordman I will be sure to do it.

Famous Jameis vs. Johnny Football

Mandel compares the greatness of last years Heisman trophy winner, Johnny Manziel, to this year’s expected winner, Jameis Winston. This is by far the best column Mandel has wrote. I am literally surprised at how interesting and well done it is. The vast majority of his columns are short and not too interesting, but this one is in its own category. And the fact that I am a big Johnny Football fan has nothing to do with it. Mandel broke down his comparison into seven categories:

1. Passing (Won by Winston)
2. Total production (Manziel)
3. Best Game (Manziel)
4. Best Moment (Winston)
5. Schedule (Push)
6. Impact (Manziel)
7. Legacy (To be determined)

Mandel did concede that he found Manziel’s Heisman campaign to be slightly more memorable, which I agree with 100%, but he did an unbelievable job of presenting both sides and giving credit where credit is due to Jameis Winston.

BCS Showdown

Mandel started by saying, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” and he couldn’t be more write. the only thing that rivals BCS bowl games is March Madness. This years title game match-up is between No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Auburn. Florida State has had a historic season, led by their recently named Heisman Trophy winner, freshman quarterback Jameis Winston. Auburn made their way to the title game by beating a juggernaut Alabama team and witnessing a loss by Ohio St. to Michigan St. Auburn is led by there premiere running attack, featuring Nick Marshall (QB) and their own Heisman finalist, Tre Mason (HB). Mandel features each bowl game matchup along with a brief description in which he gives his opinion on the score and teams playing in the game. the top five bowl games are:

1. No. 1 Florida St. vs. No. 2 Auburn (BCS Title Game)
2. Michigan St. vs. Stanford (Rose Bowl)
3. Ohio St. vs. Clemson (Orange Bowl)
4. Missouri vs. Oklahoma St. (Cotton Bowl)
5. Alabama vs. Oklahoma (Sugar Bowl)

It is sure to be an exciting bowl season, and I know I am personally looking forward to it. To read Mandel’s column, which I thought was very well done, click here.

Coach Carter Movie Review

                I chose the movie Coach Carter for my movie review. Coach Carter is a basketball film that is based around a group of high school boys from Richmond, California who are as talented as they come, but do not but forth nearly enough effort in their academics. Based on a true story, Samuel L. Jackson plays Coach Ken Carter, who comes in to coach for his former high school where he was a star player. He quickly realizes what he is going to be faced with, but that didn’t change his demeanor at all. One of the main reasons why I love this movie so much is because Ken Carter reminds me a lot of my high school basketball coach who I had a very good relationship with. He was one of the best coaches in the area, but playing for him was not easy. He would make us run to the point where it was almost literally impossible to keep going. There were times when I hated him, much like the players in Coach Carter do with their coach, but I look back at it now and respect him more than ever for pushing me that hard. The two coaches shared several similarities:

1. Very serious attitude
2. Emphasis on conditioning and fundamentals
3. Strict guidelines and rules (we had to sign a contract before every season just like in the movie)
4. Truly one of the nicest and most genuine person you will ever meet
5. And the emphasis on becoming a better man, not just a better player

Coach Carter did something that was unprecedented when he benched his entire team and started a “lockout” when he found out his players were not achieving the academic standards that he had set. The team was in the midst of an undefeated season and had a game coming up against their biggest rival, but Coach Carter did not care. He stuck to his beliefs, and refused to lift the lockout until he saw the necessary progress in his player’s academic marks. Jackson said it best when he said, “These kids are student-athletes. Student comes first.” This is one of my personal all-time favorite sports movies. It’s a very uplifting and inspirational story and is easy for kids in countless different situations to relate to. To watch the trailer for Coach Carter, click here.

Ohio St. tops Michigan in an Instant Classic

No. 3 Ohio State should have had no problem taking care of a below average Michigan team, but as Mandel points out, it turned out to be a high-scoring thriller. This was one of Mandel’s lengthier columns, but if you hadn’t seen the game then you probably would have been a little lost. He did include one of the key events in the game, which was a second quarter brawl between the two teams that led to the ejection of three players (watch video). There were a couple things that I did not like about Mandel’s article though.

1. As I said before, it wasn’t much of a recap
2. He talked just as much about the Auburn vs. Alabama game as the Ohio St game
3. Most importantly, he didn’t mention how much of a shame it would be if Ohio St. played in the BCS National Championship.

It would be a repeat of last year with Notre Dame. Yes, I understand Ohio St. has now won its past 24 games over two seasons, but I look at it more as luck than anything else. There are at least four teams that I personally think are more talented than Ohio St. that should be considered over them.

1. Alabama
2. Auburn
3. Florida St. (Who is already ranked #1)
4. And maybe even Missouri

I just do not see Ohio St. as a National Championship caliber team, but Mandel failed to mention that. To read his article, click here. For the box score, click here.

Top Matchups of Week 14 for NCAAF

Mandel gave a preview of the upcoming week 14 football games in the NCAA, and it was an epic week. Mandel noted how many rivalry games were littered throughout the college football weekend. Here are some of the big ones just to name a few:

1. Texas vs. Texas Tech
2. Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State
3. Florida vs. No. 2 Florida State
4. No. 12 Oregon vs. Oregon State
5. No. 3 Ohio State vs. Michigan
6. And of course, No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Auburn

I love when Mandel does this. A nice little rundown of every game with a prediction on who will be victorious. Mandel confessed that the game to watch was No. 1 Alabama at No. 4 Auburn, and he couldn’t be more right. Everyone knew that game was going to be an epic showdown and it did not disappoint. Literally one of the greatest endings to a game of all time. To see all of Mandel’s predictions from week 14 click here.

Sports Information Directors

Assumptions sports information director, Ken Johnson, and WPI’s sports information director, Rusty Eggen, have both experienced similar careers leading them to where they are now. Some of the topics that were covered through out the interviews were:

Job Description

Both men do a lot of work with keeping statistics. It is part of their daily routine to make sure that statistics are correct and updated so that they can be viewed by anyone who is looking to find them. Ken has also experienced a increase in the amount of marketing that he now has to deal with. He could recall, along with Rusty Eggen, how marketing used to have very little effect in their day-to-day activity.

Changes in Technology

Like most jobs today, there has been a significant change in technology that has changed the filed of work completely. For Johnson and Eggen this change is very evident in their work place. Rusty Eggen said that he does very little of what he used to do because of the change in technology. Eggen emphasized that he had to connect with the college age student because that is who he is working with most of the time. So in order to do so he had to teach himself how to use Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets. Also, Professor Nordman expressed how just 15 years ago everything that needed to sent to someone or somewhere was done by fax. Now, that art is extinct from the work place even though it was top tier technology just 15 years ago. Both directors also expressed the importance of their sports websites. They used to have to rely on local newspapers to put box scores in the paper and have little write ups about games, but now all of that can go on the website and it is much easier to find. One con of the changes in technology, as expressed by Ken Johnson, is that the expectations from people have greatly increased. Now every little mistake is pointed out and if you are not on top of your game then you lose credibility.

How They Ended Up in Their Current Position

Johnson was a graduate of UMASS Amherst with a degree in sports management. Like most people in his field, he started very low on the food chain, but worked his way up to his first sports information job at Manhattanville College where he was for two years. He then went on to work in sports information at the University of Bridgeport while also being assistant AD. After three more years there he moved onto Saint Anselm’s college but left in 2011 when he landed the sports information director job here at Assumption. Eggen graduated from Slippery Rock College and also began working at the bottom of the field. His first job was as a publicist for the Massachusetts Stat Athletic Conference (MSAC) where he made $10,000 a year with no benefits or bonuses. He left this job to work as assistant AD and to be a part of the conference work at Fitchburg State for six and a half years. When he was presented with the opportunity to take the sports information director job at WPI he did not hesitate, and that is where he has been for the past eight years.

Pros and Cons

The pros of being a sports information director heavily outweigh the cons. Rusty alluded to the age old expression “if you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life.” He said that he has not worn a pair of pants in a long time because he is his own boss. He can make his schedule and it allows a lot of flexibility. He may have to work some long nights, extra hours, and on weekends but he says it is worth it because of how he is able to make his own schedule. He also said how much he enjoys being around people our age (18-22) because he can feed off their energy and it makes me feel younger than he is. Johnson only talked about one con that he deals with which was that the improvements in technology have increased the expectations from the sports information department. But other than that he loves his job too.

Working with the Media

Both directors say that working with the media is a large part of their job. One thing that they will do is contact local/hometown newspapers when a certain player has done something worth writing about. For Example, when Mike Pedone rush for 209 yards the other week, Ken Johnson contacted his hometown newspaper, which happened to be in Worcester, and get them to write a feature about it because of his outstanding performance. Both directors said that they actually have been lucky and haven’t had many issues with working with the media. Everyone they have talked to has been willing to work with them. They even get some people who will write about a certain player without even being asked because they are able to find information and statistics on the teams athletics website.

What I Liked About the Athletic Websites

• How easy it is to navigate
• The overall look of the website
• The updated statistics on all teams and players
• The amount of information that can be found on the sites
• Your available to look at more than just teams and players (Inside the athletics department)

Week 10 in College Football

Mandel did not exactly write a column here. He took the week 10 matchups, predicted the outcome, and gave a brief description supporting his picks. Some of the big games this week were:

• No. 18 Oklahoma State vs. No. 15 Texas Tech
• No. 23 Michigan vs. No. 24 Michigan State
• And the big game of the week, No. 3 Florida St. vs. No. 7 Miami

This was nothing like Mandel’s conventional columns, but it was something different and I actually liked it. There was not much to critique as far as content goes because he really did not write much at all. This piece Mandel wrote is not for someone who doesn’t watch college football because they would have no idea what he’s talking about. But then again he doesn’t really need to worry about that because only college football fans are going to be reading his entries.

Daniil Tarasov

The player I choose to interview from the Worcester Sharks is Daniil Tarasov. Tarasov is a young stud in the San Jose hockey system. His season stats so far are:

• Six Goals and three assists (totaling 9 points)
• Six games played
• A hat trick in a game
• A plus 2 rating on the ice

Tarasov is a very talented player that came over from Moscow, Russia. He was also the rookie of the year last season for the Sharks. His play has made him stand out as one of the better young talents in all the AHL.

Oregon is For Real

In Mandel’s recap of Oregon’s impressive win (box score here) over No. 12 UCLA he briefly explained why Oregon made a statement concerning their BCS title bid. other than that, he failed to mention much else.

1. Where was the dissection of the game?
2. What are you thinking after watching that game?
3. Failed to mention an injury deprived UCLA who will likely continue to drop in the BCS rankings
4. What about the impressive fourth quarter by the Ducks

Mandel mentioned that it was a nail biter up until the final quarter but he didn’t go into detail. I understand that most of his columns are brief recaps, but this felt like it was even less than that. Feel free to read the column here.