Sports media week 4 photo

 Website: I would use this photo for a website because it would make a great cover. It is a picture of a high school basketball team after winning districts. I think it would be a great cover picture because you could put as a caption "Official website of your 2013 district champions Superior Central.

 Twitter: I would use this picture for twitter for breaking news. This is a picture of the players who won all conference awards, and I would put what awards the players received. 

Facebook: I would use this picture for a Facebook post to give an update on the game in progress. Several sports teams do similar things with their Facebook pages. 

sports rant

If there is one thing you know about me when it comes to basketball its Lebron James is my least favorite player in the game today. My high school basketball coach asked me if the Pistons signed him would I like it, and I said no.
   Right now, Lebron is the best player in the game, I wont get into that debate. I would not put him in the top 5 all time however. Part of that is my dislike for him, but I also think that some of the older players were just better.
For the record here are my top 5 players
1. Kareem Abdul Jabbar (leads in scoring and was part of the Lakers streak, and the Bucks streak)
2. Michael Jordan (MJ changed the game, in many eyes he is the best, and i can see that, he was fun to watch)
3. Magic Johnson (Magic brought a whole new dimension to the point guard position. At 6 9 he was a matchup nightmare.
4. Larry Bird (One of the greatest players in the greatest franchise of the sport, and I hate the Celtics)
5. Shaq. This one will raise eyebrows, but shaq was dominant. He was one of the best big men ever. Alot of people remember shaq for his personality, but he was a great baller, and won with 2 different franchises.

Anyways, the real reason for the post was not to talk about who my top 5 are. It is to talk about the Miami Heat's streak of 27 games and what happened after the game. The streak was impressive. I hate the Heat, I dont like the super teams, and I think the teams they played were weak, but to win 27 straight is hard it doesnt matter who you play. After the game however, as one of my friends from school put on her blog, Lebron and the Heat didnt shake hands with Chicago. The announcers said "We are okay with this, I hate when they shake hands and act like friends after a match like this."

    What in the world are we teaching America's youth with that?? If we win its okay to go over to the other team and shake their hands, but if we lose dont go congratulate them on their victory? I understand competitive nature, trust me, I hate losing. Losing is my least favorite thing. Whether if it was a high school soccer game my senior year, or playing go fish with my 4 year old niece I hate losing (I dont get all mad if I lose to her, but I do not take it easy and let her win, part of it is the competitive nature, part of it is I dont want her to grow up thinking she should win every time she plays a game.)
     My junior year in high school our soccer team finished the conference with a record of 9-2. That was the best conference record we had ever put up in the history of the school as far as I know. We were one of the best teams in the conference, we had 3 1st team all conference players, and a handful of 2nd team and honarable mentions. Our best player was Andrew. Andrew was in the top of the league in scoring. I do not know where he ranked, but he had to have been top 3. We had the best defense in the league. We allowed 2 or less goals a game, and Andrew would score that in a game. I do not want to sound braggy, but I was the best goalie in the conference.
  The thing that made our team special is we had the confidence we were the best, but we trained hard at every practice, and we never took an opponent lightly. We knew that we could be beat if we didnt show up. In the conference tourny that year, we played our rivals Grand Marais in the first round. Looking back on this game there is no reason on earth we shouldnt have won 5-0 or worse. We missed wide open shots. I had to make some saves to keep us in the game, and I did.. The game was 0-0 and we went into a shootout, we lost the shootout 3-1. I was ticked. Like I said, I hate losing, but losing to Grand Marais sucks. To put it into perspective, the rivalry then was like the Florida Florida State rivalry. We are in the same county, so every game was bragging rights for the county. They beat us, we shook their hands. I can promise you this, if I refused to shake their hands because I hate losing I would not be allowed to play on the team my senior year.
  Two things that we dont teach in sports today that I believe we should are good sports, and failure. Good sports goes deeper than shaking hands after a game, its a respect factor. You play physical, but you play clean. You dont knock out a player just because he is better. I have heard several stories, and I have been attacked myself because teams tried to knock me out of the game. The other thing that I hate about the world today is participation awards. You want kids to succeed in life? Then teach them failure. Teach them how to handle losing, teach them that life wont give you handouts. Sometimes you do everything your supposed to, and the results just dont go your way. Thats life. I have never been given a "nice try" award for doing something right but it didnt end the way I was planning.  I know that not everyone has the competitive drive that I do, but when a kid loses a game, let him remember how he felt after the game. Don't try to fix it by giving him a nice try trophy. To this day I still feel pain from losing that game. Obviously it isn't anywhere near it was the day of the game, but none of us talk about it because we all feel we should have won, and it bugs us. If our coach said "guys, we played great, here is a trophy for trying" we all would have been mad. It would have been a slap in the face to us, but that is exactly what is going on. Ok, my rant is over, I have to go to work now, haha.

Week 3 photo assignment

 The Detroit Red Wings and several other professional sports teams have teamed up with games such as monopoly. The benefit of this is fans can feel like they own the team. 

 The CCHA (Central Collegiate Hockey Association) handed out these bags at a championship weekend at Joe Louis Arena. This is a great tool to get the name of the CCHA out, and also great advertising by Pontiac and GMC.

This is a Columbus Crew Jersey. One thing that the MLS does is have advertising on their jerseys. The Crew have Glidden on their jerseys which is a great tool for Glidden to get their names out. 

Sports media assignment 1

 This is a video game cover. I believe that sports' leagues can make revenue by making the deals with the different entities in video games. Each of the major sports have made deals with video game companies, which I believe is a win-win for both the leagues and the video game companies. 

This is a ad in a magazine to buy different Lions gear. I believe that the ad is a great tool to get revenue because it shows what items are available, and where to get the items. 

This is a program for the Detroit Tigers. I believe that programs are a great tool to create revenue. Even though we live in the digital age, people like bringing home a souvenir from a game, and the program is a great way to do that. 

5 best and 5 worst sports franchises

My week has been good. The hockey lockout has ended! I am a huge hockey fan, I love the Red Wings, but I also pay attention to the Flyers, Jets (used to be Thrashers) and the Panthers. In the offseason, long time Detroit Red Wing defensemen Niklas Lidstrom announced he was retiring. The retirement brought upon alot of questions in the Red Wings organization, starting with the defense situation, and who would be the next Captain of the team. 

  Today the Red Wings announced that veteran Forward Henrik Zetterberg will be the new Captain. I was reading an article about this on ESPN.com, and some fans from all over hockey said there opinions. One fan said something that got me thinking. He said something along these lines "Why do Red Wing fans think its Stanley Cup or bust, isnt that a little prideful of them." I was thinking about that, and I think every organization in sports should have the mindset of championship or bust. But the post wasnt about the organization, it was about the fans. Why do Red Wing fans expect Stanley Cups every year? The easy answer is because in my lifetime we have never missed the playoffs, and I am 21. The organization has made a product on the ice that fans can be proud of. Even when we are supposedly rebuilding we are still in the race for the cup, and that is the goal of every sports franchise. 

With all this thinking, I have been thinking "What are the top 5 franchises over the last 20 years?" 

So heres my top 5 franchises in the past 20 years. 

1. Detroit Red Wings. Even though hockey does have 8 playoff spots, it still is hard to be one of the best teams in the game for over 20 years. You can get a good season one year, but to have it 20+ years in a row shows something about how they draft players, get good free agents, and develop their own talent. 

2. Green Bay Packers I hate the Packers. In fact, I see a cheesehead hat and I wanna puke, but what the organization has done in my lifetime cannot be denied. They have had 2 quarterbacks (I know Flynn started once, and before Favre they had a qb in the 90s), but when you think of 90s Packers you think of Brett Favre. The Packers have had only 2 championships in this stretch, but they have won several division championships, and have had countless pro bowl players, and they know how to draft players. The Packers can have a player get hurt, and they can have a no name step in and be a player people will love. I hate the Packers, but you have to respect the organization, and I do. 

3. Las Angeles Lakers I am not a big basketball fan, but I do know that from the late 90's to today the Lakers have been a good basketball team. This year they have struggled, but over the last decade + Kobe has been the best player in the league, and has brought 4 championships to the organization. The Lakers have management who want to win, and want to win now, they will do the moves necessary to win, even though this year isnt a good year. 

4. New England Patriots What kind of NFL team finds their Franchise qb in the 6th round? In the 2000s and for a bit the mid 90s the Patriots have had one of the best teams in the NFL. They have won more than the Packers, but the Packers get the nod over New England because the Packers have been better longer. 

5. New York Yankees  There probably is a better option than the Yankees for the top 5, but part of this thought process of mine is fans who expect to win every year, and thats the Yankees. The past 4 or 5 years the Yankees havent been as dominant. They won a WS a couple years ago over Philly, but they have been on the downside. The Yankees take a different approach to winning. They dont draft well, they dont raise up their own talent, they trade away their talent to get players that they know can play, and they have a higher payroll for that. In the 90s the team to beat was the Yankees. Like I said, the past few years the team hasnt been as good, but the fans expect championships. 

Honorable Mentions 

San Antonio Spurs

Baltimore Ravens

Pittsburg Steelers

Now the bottom 5. 

1. Detroit Lions.. I am a Lions fan, but that does not change the fact they are a terrible franchise. Its starts in the owners box. The teams who made the top 5 franchises had one thing in common, owners who want to win. Ford doesnt care if the Lions win or lose. The Matt Millen era lasted way too long. Recently I saw good signs out of the team, but this year we took a big step back, and we will see what happens in the future, but a rebuilding team shouldnt take 20 years. 

2. Pittsburg Pirates. Part of the Pirates problems is that baseball doesnt have a salary cap rule, so teams like the Yankees can spend whatever money they want on players. However, Oakland is in the same ballpark as the Pirates, and still compete. I do not really know what the problem with Pittsburg is, but they need to figure out a way to develop good players consistently. They can get one or 2 good players at a time, but they cant get a team, last year was a better year for them, lets see if they can turn the corner. 

3. Toronto Maple Leafs Losers since 67. The franchise has alot of pride in the past, and thats just it, its all in the past. Fans are tired of being down, and they are ready for the turn. They do have good pieces in place, lets see if they can turn the corner too. 

4. Golden State Warriors I do not remember a time where Golden State was relevant, and that is why they are on my list. They could have been good, I really dont know, but you dont hear about them, nobody talks about them, and they dont really have a player you can connect with the organization. 

5. Buffalo Bills The BIlls are the AFC version of the Lions, they have wasted players talent. The team has been releveant in the 90s, but have the longest playoff drought in the NFL, which gives them that title. 

Honorable Mentions

New York Islanders

Dallas Cowboys (I know they were good in the 90s thats why they are only here, but the last 10 years Jerry Jones being the GM has ruined this organization)

Oakland Raiders (same reason as Dallas)

Columbus Blue Jackets

Houston Astros (made world series, so they arent terrible, but they havent done much else)

NFL Rookie qb's

This years NFL rookie quarterback class is in the discussion of being one of the best years for the position in NFL history.

            The Indianapolis Colts took Andrew Luck 1st overall in the Draft.
   http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2012/story/_/id/7859344/2012-nfl-draft-indianapolis-colts-select-andrew-luck-no-1-pick

The Washington Redskins traded several draft picks to the St. Louis Rams to move up to the 2^nd overall pick and with that pick they picked Robert Griffin III. He is known as RG3. 

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-04-26/sports/35450744_1_luck-and-griffin-robert-griffin-iii-nfl-draft 

The Miami Dolphins took Ryan Tannehill with the 8^th overall pick, many felt that the pick was not a good pick, since Tannehill had only played 1 season at quarterback at Texas A&M. 

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/dolphins/story/2012-04-26/ryan-tannehill-miami-draft/54570496/1

The Cleveland Browns took the last quarterback of the first round by selecting Brandon Weeden with the 22^nd overall pick. Weeden was considered a risk at the time because of his age. At the time of the draft, Weeden was 28. The average age of a draft pick is anywhere from 20-23 years old.http://www.cleveland.com/budshaw/index.ssf/2012/04/post_47.html

The quarterback choices were over until late in the second round when the Denver Broncos selected Brock Osweiler of Arizona State with the 25^th pick in the 2^nd round to back up Peyton Manning. 

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--2012-afc-draft-grades--risky-dolphins--o-line-needy-steelers-earn-high-marks.html

The Seattle Seahawks took Russell Wilson from Wisconsin in the 3^rd round despite having signed Matt Flynn from the Green Bay Packers. Former NFL coach John Gruden thought Wilson would be the steal of the draft.

http://www.ridethepine.com/funny/russell-wilsons-wife-draft/
I apologize for the website's content, however, I could not find other good pictures of Wilson on draft day. 

            Later in the 3^rd round, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Nick Foles to back up Michael Vick. 

http://article.wn.com/view/2012/08/24/Eagles_rookie_Foles_keeps_pace_with_talented_draft_class_of_/ 

The last quarterback I will be discussing is the Washington Redskins 4^th round pick, Kirk Cousins. Many questioned the pick because of taking 2 quarterbacks in their first 3 picks.http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/14880/kirk-cousins
Many projected the 4 quarterbacks taken in the 1st round to start right away for their teams, and all 4 did. However, there was a 5th quarterback to start that many were shocked by. 

Russell Wilson beat out Matt Flynn to start for the Seattle Seahawks.

http://www.seahawks.com/team/roster/Russell-Wilson/61b432f5-cd6c-4c4f-a8a4-9e307ffa4f3a

 Andrew Luck has brought the Colts from the worst team last season to a team with a real shot at the postseason with 9 wins so far this season. 

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-12-02/sports/chi-indianapolis-colts-detroit-lions-20121202_1_andrew-luck-vick-ballard-chuck-pagano

RG3 has brought huge success to the Redskins this season. Not only are they in the race for the playoffs, they have a real shot at the NFC division. 

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfceast/post/_/id/43070/heres-a-whole-bunch-of-stuff-about-rg3

Ryan Tannehill had a great start to the season, but has recently slowed down a bit, but he may have proved to many for the time being that he was not a bad pick. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Tannehill

Despite having a slow start, Brandon Weeden has been able to help turn the Browns season around. The Browns have a small percent chance of making the playoffs, but at only 5 wins, the Browns will most likely miss the postseason, but have a lot to build on. 

http://www.cleveland.com/budshaw/index.ssf/2012/09/in_defeat_cleveland_browns_qb.html        

Osweiler has not played any significant time this year because of the health of Peyton Manning.

Nick Foles took over for Michael Vick after Vick went down with a concussion. Foles will be the starting qb for the Eagles for the remainder of the year, and is the favorite to start for the team next year. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/wp/2012/11/12/eagles-set-to-start-rookie-nick-foles-at-qb-against-redskins/

Russell Wilson has won the hearts of many in Seattle, and has led the team to a great chance of making the playoffs.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/fantasy-roto-arcade/sunday-scene-week-13-russell-wilson-shames-bears-050521108--fantasy.html

Kirk Cousins has backed up RG3 all season until RG3 went down this past Sunday with a sprain in his knee.  Cousins in the final drive of the game led the Redskins to tie the game with a touchdown then a two-point conversion. The Redskins won the game with a field goal in overtime.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-kirk-cousins-rg3-20121210,0,6971.story 

I do not own the pictures, I have no copyright infringement intended. The links underneath the pictures are the links of where you can find these pictures. Thank you for looking at my blogpost, hope you enjoyed!