Adrian Peterson, Sources Compared

Any college and pro football fans are familiar with the on the field action of the former Oklahoma Sooner and current Minnesota Viking, Adrian Peterson. Anyone who follows football on a daily basis is aware of Peterson’s recent suspension that will expand the remainder of the 2014-2015 season. Peterson, who by most, is considered the NFL’s best running back was brought up on child abuse charges after striking his son with a tree branch, a punishment known as, “Switching”. This post is not going to take a stance on the act itself but rather focus on how two media outlets covered the story. The two sources don’t necessarily have a difference stance on the issue, however they both cover it from a different perspective, full of contrasting viewpoints.

I chose two media outlets with fairly different perspectives on the story. The first of which was none other than NFL.com , Though the page has a written article and video, I chose to focus on the video. The commentator in the video is describing the apparent shock of the season long suspension rather than the charges against Peterson. NFL.com isn’t ignoring the star’s charges, however, the site seems to be focusing on the fact that he will be missing time and how the whole situation effects the Vikings organization. In addition, the video is focused on the negative effects on Peterson’s future in the league rather than the magnitude of the crime he committed. Sports journalism is there to discuss predominately, what is happening in/on the field of play, however, it would have been nice to see a little bit more about the actual charges in the case.

The second outlet I chose was a written article from USNews.com , before anyone reads this piece it’s important to know that it is 100% opinion. The article takes a look at the Adrian Peterson story through the eyes of a mother. It paints a picture of Adrian Peterson as someone who made a poor decision, ( a reasonable point). The article is interesting in that it’s length, though short in nature, doesn’t leave out any differing point of views. The implied message in this article is that any sort of child abuse is unacceptable regardless of how one may have been raised. In addition, I also found this article so interesting based on the fact that it focused on the child in the case rather than Adrian Peterson’s suspension.

The Comparison: The two media outlets focus on the same story, and that’s about all they have in common with one another. The NFL.com video is focused on Peterson himself, whether his suspension was fair, whether the league was trying to make a statement, etc. The USNews.com article however, was focused on the act of child abuse in the US and what spawns abuse based on a persons’ upbringing. Another large difference between these two sources is the difference of voice. The NFL.com video is clearly commentated by sports anchors who are supposed to be focused on the game play aspect of the situation. This is quite contrary in the USnews article, the author claims at the beginning of the article that she is, ” not a big sports gal, and certainly not a football fan”. This displays the fact that she is clearly coming from a parental or moral stance rather than a sports minded approach. Overall, both sources are evidently passionate about the stance they are taking and as stated in paragraph one, they don’t really contradict one another, they just focus on different aspects of the story.

Why does it matter?

This story is important to any reader of this blog because it merges the idea of competitive sports with human, and moral values. I’m aware that this blog post doesn’t necessarily follow the theme of, ” The State of College Football”. However, when arguing over whether a former division one star’s suspension was justified or not, it makes for a good fit. Issues like this one or the Ray Rice Situation have a major impact on the sports world and on the society we live in. There was one part of the US news article I disagree with, the author claims, ” the saddest element of all, is that the only reason we know about the abuse of this little boy is because his daddy got caught, this time”. Though that point makes perfect sense, the fact is that we wouldn’t have the overwhelming awareness of these issues if they didn’t happen on this big of a stage. To clarify, I am in no way condoning the actions of these athletes who exercise abusive qualities. I’m simply saying it would be sadder if the situation went on unnoticed. Its important for my readers to realize the type of impact sports can have off of the field. To help prevent child abuse in the US, you can donate at Childhelp.org .

College Playoff Advertisement

Throughout the College Football Playoff advertisement, one will notice the reoccurring faces of  familiarity we see on a daily basis on any major sports outlet. The ad is full of dramatized sequences of coaches and other known college football alum doing ridiculous game preparations on the account of the newly formatted College football bowl system. For the most part in the ad, we see trends of well known, more competitive football programs being depicted in every “funny” little scene.  It’s reasonable to believe that ESPN did this in order to attract a larger audience while also sneaking in a little glimpse of the smaller schools who may not have a realistic chance of competing for the championship. This ad is simply trying to promote the NCAA’s new system in a goofy, yet excitable light, ( god knows they need to after the horrible BCS system before, but that’s neither here nor there). This ad is successful in that, its different than most typical sports advertisements on television, they have humor, a variety of teams involved, and of course the attention nabbing Jerry Jones. All things considered it’s cheesy but it sparks a buzz around the new playoff system that fans have been waiting years for. To conclude, this ad clearly wants the viewer to be engaged in the new college football format. I would say it is successful in doing so, at the very least this ad is a glorified reminder for fans who may have not paid attention to the offseason changes in the bowl system. The ad also gets the nod based on the fact that its played on a major network countless times a day in front of it’s target audience. All signs point to the college football playoff ad being a successful one.

Blog Post #4: News Beat

1. Television has played a substantial roll in my news beat. My news beat is almost always revolving around what’s going on in the sports world. As the popularity of athletics at every level increases in this country, more and more sports networks are finding their way onto television. The most prominent sports network is naturally ESPN on a national scale. The network alone covers all major events in the sports world with it’s seemingly non-stop Sports Center program. The sports news channels have evolved over the years as more and more networks are becoming available on basic cable. This is a large difference from say the 1950’s where sports media was centralized through print or radio broadcasting.

2.  Television is extremely effective in promoting my news beat based on the fact that sports are already viewed on TV. For example, it makes more sense to look online for views on US foreign affairs because one could see the facts for themselves rather than hearing a bias form of news media. However, with sports media we don’t see as much of a national bias, the reporters are simply reporting what we could see for ourselves during a ball game. This is different than local sports networks who have a natural bias skewed towards the hometown team (Altitude Sports will always hold a bias supporting the Nuggets).

3. As I briefly stated in question 1, ESPN and it’s sub channels, (ESPN2, ESPN U, ESPN NEWS, etc.) are all the most popular sources for my news beat. However, there are also channels that specialize in certain categories. For example, NFL Network specializes in pro football while NBA TV specializes in pro basketball. There is also a number of college sports media outlets that are based on D1 conferences, ( Pac12 Network, SEC Network, BigTen Network) and the list goes on and on. This variety of channels enhances peoples ability to access sports information simply based on the fact that there are multiple sports media outlets on television.

Jameis Winston: Trouble for the Seminoles

As another week went by in the world of college football, one pattern remained the same, Jameis Winston is continuing to display his immaturity. Last week during a school function at Florida State University, the young Seminole quarter back yelled an explicit comment. It got him suspended for one game so one could imagine the offensive nature. It says a lot coming from a young kid who has had his fair share of off the field issues thus far in his career. Winston’s talent is undeniable coming off of his 2013 Heisman Trophy campaign. However, being wrapped up in a rape investigation, shoplifting thirty two dollars worth of crab legs, and now this, proves that the kid has some growing up to do.

The main issue isn’t really Winston’s, these actions reflect terribly on the Florida State football program and the university as a whole. The most troubling part of this whole fiasco is the fact that the guy initially, was only suspended for one half of the Seminoles matchup with Clemson! As Athletic Director, what kind of message is Stan Wilcox sending to his recruits and the college football fan base when this kid constantly gets off scot free. It displays a lack of effort or care on the University’s part and it will only hurt the program in the long run. Florida State may be succeeding on the field (though I think they’re going to get knocked off here pretty quick), but as an academic institution, the school could begin to lose a little credibility with the general public.

With all this being said, we can’t just assume that Jameis Winston is some terrible guy. He appears to be the prototypical young athlete with his immaturity’s, however when you mix that with a major athlete’s ego, turmoil is bound to occur at some point in time. If the football program wants to be successful on and off the field, the faculty has to address players with these issues in a more harsh and critical manner.

Below is a Nick Bromberg podcast discussing in more detail, the effects of the Jameis Winston situation.

https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/the-dr–saturday-podcast–jameis-winston–week-4-and-more-014017055.htm

 

History of Music: Punk Compare/Contrast

The punk genre has transitioned and manifested itself into many sub genres over the years. In this Post, I will compare and contrast the Sex Pistols, “God Save The Queen” and Senses Fail’s ” Tie Her Down” . The two songs musically sound significantly different, though the tone has similarities regardless of the years separating the two bands, ( about 25 years in specific). In the song, “God Save the Queen”, the Sex Pistols essentially display their disapproval of the Monarchy in England. In ” Tie Her Down, Senses fail displays their unhappiness in a certain relationship, I assume an intimate one. The two songs have totally different targets however, they both have the same sense of angst and rebellious lyrics. Though Senses fail is labeled as Post Hardcore, a sub genre of the punk scene, the band still maintains the attitude of the influential punk roots that the Sex Pistols help pave. The difference is the musical elements. The Sex Pistols had a more upbeat rift and overall tone, though lyrically they were displaying a lack of satisfaction. Senses Fail on the other hand has a more heavy approach. Even if there were no lyrics, the audience could get the sense that the song musically had a not so positive connotation. Another difference is the fact that The Sex Pistols song wasn’t nearly as depressing. Senses fail has been labeled as one of the early 2000’s “Emo” bands. “God Save The Queen” can be viewed on an analytical scale as having undertones of depression but it’s not nearly as in your face as, ” Tie Her Down”.

While these two bands may be different to the untrained eyes and ears, they share a lot of similarities that make up the punk genre as a whole. It’s important when listening to post hardcore, Pop punk, Grunge, and some forms of metal, to realize just how big of a contribution bands like The Sex Pistols made to the ground work of the genre.