CampusIntel

After a celebrated rebirth in 2005, and a tumultuous second life, ECW is finally, really, completely, dead.

Things started out so well; 2 majorly successful “One Night Stand” pay-per-view events in 2005 in 2006, a resurgence of a fan base, and then Paul Heyman’s wish finally granted: a TV deal with a network (SyFy)  that would actually promote the show instead of bury it behind “Roller Jam”, like TNN did with ECW’s first TV deal.  90% of the original talent roster, and 100% of the energy, extreme content, and originality were all there out of the gates.  Until, things went sour.   

 ECW lost its identity.  WWE programming made a move to broadcast PG content.  Paul Heyman and every last ECW Original eventually faded out of the picture and off the roster.  Some got caught doing drugs, some left, and some got fired.  Tommy Dreamer was the final ECW Original to part ways.  Most of the others didn’t want to work for THAT version of ECW anymore (and one part because many of them truly didn’t measure up to other WWE talent from an ability standpoint).  A few of them resurfaced in rival promotion TNA, if at all. 

The “E” in ECW still technically stood for “Extreme,” but you’d be hard pressed to prove it in ECW’s last days.  In fact, you’d be hard pressed to distinguish it at all from the other WWE shows.  The hardcore original version that Paul Heyman incarnated (Paul himself made a huge content shift from the original ECW, which stood for “Eastern Championship Wrestling”, a rather traditional wrestling show) gave way to a kid friendly and family oriented version.  ECW’s “extreme” movement simply meant violence; and this no longer melded with Vince McMahon’s vision of ECW.  Unfortunately, the man with the money controls the show; and Heyman’s ECW was not congruent with Vince’s.  Whether Vince liked it or not though, the hardcore style made ECW stand-out from other wrestling shows, since no other wrestling show took it to that level. 

McMahon has been known to make statements to the tune of him always knowing what the audience wanted.  Most would say either Vince never “got” what ECW fans really wanted, or else just chose not to acknowledge the truth.  Most would agree he’s never been good with characters and concepts he didn’t create himself.  When fans said they wanted hardcore barbed-wire, no-DQ matches with steel chairs and flaming tables, Vince gave them the company’s 3^rd tier show with 3^rd tier stars, performing the same material the others were doing—but worse.  Even the original format of ECW matches – No DQ’s and no count-outs—was abolished.  The show didn’t even stand on its own; tapings were piggybacked before Raw or Smackdown broadcasts, and didn’t even feature a stand-alone tour (though there was originally, it obviously was a failure).  Extreme-C-W had been phased out, and most would admit the writing had been on the wall for quite some time.

So now with ECW’s cancellation, we get what Vince McMahon describes as “the next evolution of WWE; the next evolution of television history.”  We get “WWE NXT”; a reality/wrestling mashup of developmental wrestlers trying to make it to the main WWE rosters with the guidance of current WWE Superstars.  While I’ll admit the concept contains partial originality (smells a lot like WWE’s first reality show, “Tough Enough”), I really don’t think anyone cares to see 8 b-list stars coach 8 complete unknowns to “greatness”. For WWE’s sake, I hope the new show is a success; but methinks this show may end up going the way of the XFL.

There are battles of Alberta, Summit Series’, and “Magnificence” vs “Greatness”; but is there an NHL rivalry greater than the current individualistic battle between Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin?

The two phenoms entered the league as at least respectful rivals of each other. Prior to their simultaneous NHL arrivals, they had only ever competed against each other on the international stage, playing for Canada and Russia, respectively.  With cameras and tape recorders rolling, making campy NHL commercials and delivering birthday cakes at the NHL All-Star game together slowly morphed into on-ice physicality and off-ice verbal sparring.  Welcome to the business of “selling” the new NHL to the American market.

It’s a protagonist-antagonist scenario that seems to be inspired by Vince McMahon himself.  In one corner, you have the abrasive, exciting, inimical Ovechkin; equipped with infinite energy and a talent level he must have exchanged his soul for, hailing from Mother Russia, a country that, according to Hollywood, produces more bad guys than perogies.  His opposition, the humble, hard-working, and traditional Crosby; hailing from Canada, playing and interviewing the way the Canadian hockey heroes of the past did before him.  Of course, as the NHL panders to the North American market, it’s easy to portray Crosby as the “good guy”, though Ovechkin, Federov, and every other Russian NHL star has been adorned in their homeland.  Most Canadian fans would likely admit that there’s Russian NHL’ers that are better than Canadian NHL’ers, but they’d feel like they were betraying their country if they ever uttered it publicly.

Forget all the media hoopla; shouldn’t the NHL be sending royalties to the parents of Sidney and Alexander for deciding to have children that grew up to capture the attention of their entire audience?  In the ongoing battle to procure American advertisers and cable network broadcasters, the NHL can count on at least Penguins and Capitals games as easy ratings sells; providing that Crosby and Ovechkin are in the lineup.  Did anyone care about the Capitals before Alexander the Great?  A team with no Stanley Cups, and nothing more than a conference championship in 1997-98, former Hart and Art Ross Trophy Winner Jaromir Jagr couldn’t even make hockey exciting in Washington.  All of a sudden, the Verizon Center has sell-out crowds, and the team is a contender.  Ovechkin plays with a wreckless abandon that has resulted in a kneeing suspension, but what is coach Bruce Boudreau going to do with his star, bench him?  Tell him to ease up?  Come on.  The Penguins at least got to pair Lemieux and Crosby together in 2006, but the Steel-Town had been pretty dismal since the back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1990-92.  Sure hockey’s a team game, but to suggest that the individual ability and rivalry of Crosby and Ovechkin isn’t largely responsible for the teams’ success and the league’s rising interest, is naive.

The 2008-09 playoffs were an absolute treat to watch, and many people would point to the Pens/Caps Eastern Conference showdown as a highlight, as well as an indication of who would/did become the eventual Cup winner.  Fans got to see Sid and Ovie go at each other for seven consecutive games rather than once a season, and they got to see both players at the top of their respective games; Game 2 featured both players notching hat tricks, and Sid’s 13 series’ points and Ovie’s 14 equaled the highest single-series point total since the 1995 NHL playoffs.  It was awesome.

Penguins win the series 4-3, and the “evil” Ovechkin, was banished back to Russia (well, Washington), screaming promises of revenge (actually he wished that the Pens win the Cup, but just work with me) while he was being dragged away. Meanwhile, the “heroic” Crosby was adorned on a mountain top, cape waving, a dark curl dangling from mid-brow (just above his perv-stache), all while giving an interview where he characteristically puts over his opponents, commenting on how well they played, and not giving himself any selfish credit. Wouldn’t it have been great/justified if he had finally just snapped, either after that series or after winning the Cup, and said, “YOU SEE?!?! I AM BETTER THAN HIM!!”

Ovechkin wins rookie of the year, Sid’s named the youngest captain in history.  Sid wins the Art Ross and the Hart, Ovie wins the Richard and Pearson awards.  And so they dance.  We’re still waiting to see what Ovechkin’s equal to Sid’s Cup win will be.  Alexander’s pursuit of a championship, Sidney’s defence of his, and their continued rivalry will continually be fun to watch, and is easily the best rivalry in the NHL today.  It’s Canada vs. Russia, tradition vs. new school, team vs. team, and man vs. man, all wrapped into one ongoing showdown.  If the NHL can’t sell that to Americans, then tearing fans away from the baseball diamond and football field for the hockey rink is a fruitless endeavor anyways.

By: Dustin Pollack

The Minnesota Vikings are one of four teams remaining in the 2009-2010 NFL playoffs. But for 40-year-old quarterback Brett Favre the road back to the Conference Championship has come with scrutiny and boo’s from fans and media alike.

It was March 2008 when Favre first pulled the retirement-comeback card.  Just months after retiring from the Green Bay Packers, Favre decided he  wanted to comeback to the Packers, but to his dismay Aaron Rodgers had already filled his spot.

After some paperwork was filed later that off-season, Favre was traded from the Packers to the New York Jets where he played the 2008-2009 season.

The Jets finished 10-6 but were eliminated by the Miami Dolphins in the AFC East Title game. Favre started the season strong with 12 touchdowns in his first four games, but he trailed off in his last 11 games throwing for just 10 touchdowns making for a total of 22.

Paving the way for Favre’s second retirement.

But Brett made yet another comeback in August 2009, this time with the Minnesota Vikings.

Minnesota seemed to be a great place for Favre for the simple fact that he could take a back seat in the Vikings offense to top NFL running back Adrian Peterson.

And in his first start that seemed to be the case as Favre only passed for 110 yards while Peterson rushed for 180.

However, after his week three heroics where Favre marched the Vikings down the field in the games final moments and then threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Greg Lewis with just seconds remaining to defeat the San Francisco 49ers , it seemed Favre was climbing over Adrian Peterson into the front seat of the Vikings offense.

He responded again the following week against his former team the Green Bay Packers throwing for four touchdowns in the Vikings 30-23 victory.

After going 7-1 in the first half of the season the Vikings trailed off going 5-3 in their last eight games.

The Vikings impressive 12-4 record can be hugely credited to the play of Favre who had some of his best statistical numbers ever:

• 33 touchdowns (his most since 1997-1998)
• 4202 passing yards (his 3^rd most ever)
• 107.2 QB rating (career best)
• 7 interceptions (career best)

At 40 years old Brett is putting up the same kind of numbers that he did when he was 25. It makes you wonder, has the best yet to come from Brett Favre?

Too often forgotten after all of the Olympic hype is the Paralympic games. This year when you gather at the bar to watch the final moments of a game, or flip through the newspaper to check the medal standings, or snuggle up to watch Canadian athletes soar, I encourage you to take a longer look an introduce yourself to the Paralympic Games.

The Paralympic games will be broadcast March 12th-March 28th, and the biggest story for the Paralympic Games this year with be Sledge Hockey. Information provided by the Canadian Paralympic Committee/ International Paralympic Committee, “Sledge hockey is the Paralympic version of Ice hockey and, since its debut on the Paralympic program at the 1994 Lillehammer Paralympic Winter Games, it is quickly becoming one of the biggest attractions for spectators at the Paralympic Winter Games. It is fast-paced, highly physical and played by male athletes with a physical disability in the lower part of the body.” Similar to hockey played during the Olympic Games, each team has six players on the ice, including the goaltender. Teams are comprised of a maximum of 15 male players per team, including two goaltenders. To be eligible to compete at the Paralympics, athletes must have a disability of permanent nature in the lower part of the body that precludes their participation in standing hockey.”

The rules, once again are much like those structuring the Olympic Games with exception to the way the movement of the game is played. ”Athletes site strapped into a metal frame that rests on two regular-sized ice-skate blades. The sledge is raised high enough to allow the puck to pass underneath. Athletes use two 75 cm long hockey sticks, with spikes on one end and blades on the other. The spike is used to propel the sledge across the ice, and the slightly curved blade is used to handle the puck. The goaltender may have an additional pick at the base end of his stick and may use an additional stick with a blade or a trapper globe with teeth.”

Recently, the documentary film about the Canadian Mens team has come out for purchase. The documentary, titled “SledHead” follows the lives and journeys of the Canadian Paralympic Team, how they became a team, and what it took for each athlete to get to the games. Some have overcome accidents, bullying, violence and discrimination. If you do anything this year in support of the Canadian Athletes, do this; watch the film, educate yourself on the athletes stories and become involved in the spirit of the games, both Olympic and Paralympic.

You can purchase the video online for $60, or take a sneek peek of the trailer at: http://sledheadmovie.com/Sledhead_Movie/Trailer_.html

The word ‘nemesis’ has been tossed around after the Toronto Raptors’ recent loss to the Boston Celtics on Jan 10th, 2010. This came after the Raps won eight of their last ten, the sole blemishes during that span at the hands of, you guessed it, the Boston Celtics. But does this relationship make the Boston Celtics the ‘nemesis?’ Let’s take a look at the top Raptors’ rivals of the past to see if today’s Celts match up. Not surprisingly, a certain familiar face is involved in all of the following rivalries.

Nearly a decade ago, the infamous series against the Philadelphia 76ers sticks in the minds of Raps fans everywhere. After defeating the New York Knicks in the first round, the Raptors were matched against the 76ers in the second round of the 2001 playoffs. The first six games split 3-3, so the pressure was on for game seven. The Raptors, still a new franchise, had never experienced such playoff success, while the 76ers had been through it many times before. Riding on their budding superstar Vince Carter, the Raptors actually had a chance to make the Eastern Conference Finals. However, despite mass criticism, Carter opted to attend his graduation ceremony at the University of North Carolina on the day of game seven, which fans and analysts felt would throw off his game. Indeed, when Carter took the series-winning shot in the dying seconds of the final game, it clanked off the rim. Philadelphia, taking full advantage of Allen Iverson’s two 50+-point games in the series, just squeaked by the Raps.

Years later, Mr. Carter was up to his old tricks again. Before the 2004-05 season, Carter demanded a trade. After becoming frustrated with Raptor management, Carter swore he would never dunk again. While a trade was inevitable, the way Carter left the city was straight up classless. And the fans let him know whenever he returns. The resounding boos heard in the ACC whenever the guy is introduced, touches the ball or makes any sort of out-of-the-ordinary gesture is just one example. As a result, Carter’s new team at the time, the New Jersey Nets, were an obvious choice for the franchise’s next rivalry. This hit a peak during the notorious Carter-Morris Peterson slapping incident, a moment that still stings Raps fans. During their playoff series in 2007, Carter’s new team proved too much for the Raptors. Now that Vince has moved on, the rivalry between the two teams is not the same. Needless to say, it is tough to uphold a meaningful loathing for a team that cannot win 10% of its games.

In case you have not figured out the trend yet, another arguable rivalry is that of the current Raptors and Orlando Magic. The rise of Superman Dwight Howard has proved a formidable challenge for Raptors All-Star Chris Bosh, with the mind-boggling numbers put up by each big man in Toronto-Orlando games intensifying everything. Howard pulls down 20 boards, Bosh goes for 40+ points; it basically writes itself. And this season, with the Magic’s addition of Carter and their former fourth-quarter closer in Hedo Turkoglu now a Rap, there is no doubt the potential rivalry that could be built around this cast.

But if it weren’t for the former ‘Air Canada,’ the one that we all love to hate, would any of these rivalries have transpired at all? Or are they really just one rivalry in itself, against the one they call Half Man Half Amazing? After all, he managed to anger the entire city of Toronto, and for that matter a majority of Canada, when he vowed to not dunk again. He has been criticised for his controversial injuries, or more specifically whether they were injuries at all. He was once the reason the Air Canada Centre was packed night in and night out; the marketing tool basketball fans or not could appreciate for his freak athleticism.

So with just these few losses to the Boston Celtics midway through the season, not yet can it be considered a rivalry. The difference is what happens off the court, the antics Vince Carter became known for. While some good games have been had between the two teams over the past few years, without the off-court drama a rivalry cannot be a rivalry at all. The Celtics have been through it all already: they know a good rivalry when they see one. In my opinion, until either a) Kevin Garnett badmouths Jose Calderon as Gilbert Arenas did (this came before he let the pistol fly, but that’s another story) or b) VC somehow makes his way to the Celts. Until this time, the Raptors need to just focus on winning games and making it to the second round of the playoffs. Then we’ll see what a real nemesis is like.

JB

By: Dustin Pollack

With NFL divisional playoff games set to get underway Saturday afternoon, I figured I would take a step back.

Instead of previewing the week to come I saw this as a nice opportunity to take a look at the 17 weeks of football that are now behind us with 8 teams remaining in the fight for footballs most precious trophy.

With each week this past season came new storylines, some of which were fulfilled and others which weren’t.

That’s where I come in. Here’s a look at the storylines that could have been… but weren’t from the 2009-2010 NFL season.

Sixteen Times Two

The New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts were each just three wins away from achieving the toughest feat in football, going undefeated. Before the New England Patriots achieved regular season perfection in 2007 the idea was seen as nearly impossible. Well except to the 72’ Dolphins.

In the Saints first six games quarterback Drew Brees threw for 16 touchdowns and the Saints outscored their opponents a combined 238-117.

In the Colts first six games quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 15 touchdowns and the Colts outscored their opponents a combined 179-77.

Once the teams each hit 13-0 records a Superbowl was already being spoken of. Imagine two 16-0 teams in the Superbowl.

Well imagining is as far as it can go. The Saints went onto lose their last three games in a row finishing the season 13-3 and the Colts lost two of their last three games, finishing the season 14-2.

So although a Colts/Saints Superbowl is still possible, the storyline of “the battle for perfection” is out of the question.

The Resurrection of Michael Vick

There was a lot of talk about Michael Vick when he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles this past August after being released from prison. An article on espn.com alluded to the fact that Vick will provide a new “dimension” the Eagles offense and he would see time on the field with Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Another article in the New York Post stated that many teams including the New York Jets would regret not taking a chance on Vick.

Well 17 weeks later I think its fair to say that Vick played a very miniscule part in the Eagles offense, although to his credit he wasn’t utilized very much. Vick only attempted to pass 13 times all season and rushed 24 times. In total Vick passed for a total of 86 yards and rushed for 96.

I think its fair to say that the Vick signing proved to be an unsuccessful one.

Manning vs. Manning

I’ll make this one short and sweet. With the New York Giants and the Indianapolis Colts both starting at 5-0 the idea of an Eli Manning vs. Peyton Manning Superbowl was inevitably going to come up at some point.

T.O’s Failed Tryout 

Many Buffalo Bills fans saw the signing of Terrell Owens this past of season as a major positive. The contract was only for one year and it was proven that Owens hadn’t caused any problems on his former teams in the first season being with them.

Also going into this season Owens was still seen as one of the more prolific wide receivers in the NFL and he would finally give Bills quarterback Trent Edwards a deep option.

Well the one-year deal which I saw as a tryout (if Owens played well and kept his mouth shut, odds are a competitive team would give him a chance making his year with the Bills a tryout) proved to be a failure. The Bills missed the playoffs and finished the season 6-10 and Owens provided some of his worst statistics ever, scoring only five touchdowns (his 2^nd lowest ever) and averaging just 51.8 yards a game (his lowest ever.)

Better luck next season T.O.

These four headlines were just a few of the 2009-2010 projected NFL season highlights that well… didn’t turn out to be highlights at all.

Aside from Mr.Clean, no one had less dirt on them than Tiger Woods, until now. 

 He’s the best golfer on the planet, and one of its (if not, the) highest paid athletes. 14 major golf championships, 71 PGA Tour events, more career major wins and career PGA Tour wins than any other active golfer, and PGA Player of the Year a record ten times. He’s held the position of “World Ranked #1” for the most consecutive weeks and for the greatest total number of weeks. He’s received uncountable other media adorned accolades, and is generally credited for increasing the global popularity of golf. He also founded and participates in numerous charitable organizations and events to benefit children, married a model, and even wrote a book called “How I Play Golf” to give bad aspiring golfers false hope of being as good as he is. Good dude, right?

Michael Jordan had his gambling. Wayne Gretzky had his (alleged) tie to a gambling ring. Now, Tiger Woods joins the world’s elite in another category: Sports’ most dominant athletes that have an actual or alleged character tarnishing event attached to them [note: Jordan’s the only non-“alleged” of the group].

Before recent events, all the media had on Tiger was a slump in 2003-04, and a little bit of course rage. The staff of TMZ and The National Enquirer must have made a(nother) deal with the Devil, because they got an “Cablinasian” Smorgasbord of a story dumped straight on their plates. Dinner’s served, media outlets and gossip-hounds; dig in.

Tiger had been as “squeaky clean” as those high-beam pearly whites of his. That is, until he soberly left his home at 2:30 am one morning, crashed his Escalade into a fire-hydrant, and then a tree at a speed too low to inflate the airbags, but high enough to cause himself bodily harm (quote from his website “I have some cuts, bruising, and right now I’m pretty sore”); to the affect that his wife had to smash his windshield with a golf club to get him out, and to force him to withdraw from his own upcoming tournament, citing the afore mentioned injuries. Oh, and he had allegedly been having an affair with one, maybe two, or maybe thirty women that aren’t his wife. Oh, and some of them have evidence to prove it.

Tiger says his wife acted “courageously,” as she rescued him, but I gotta wonder, at that speed, could the vehicle’s damage been so bad that just opening one of the multiple entry points by the handle was out of the question? Smashing the window? Did she drag him out through the shattered glass, sling him over her shoulder, and narrowly escape a fiery explosion as well? You can’t spell “courageously” without “rage”, after all (no domestic violence charges were laid).

Alright TMZ, we get it, you took the pics. All the doors still seem accessible, don’t they? How do you put your car horizontal on a driveway sober, anyways?

And the jokes, oh the jokes. “The Driver lets Tiger down, yet again”, “I finally outdrove Tiger”, and the likes will probably haunt Woods for… ever.

In addition to the estimated $8000 to fix his truck, local police have issued Tiger a fine of a whopping $164 (yes, that figure is only 3 digits long, no zeroes attached) for careless driving, and some points on his license. Way to go cops, surely he’s learned his lesson now.  Way to show him he’s not above the law.  

We couldn’t have just let him be really good at golf, and let him get away with appearing to be an overall quality human being, could we? We love our heroes when they’re doing great and historic things on the playing field; but when they do something of the equal opposite in life, we love to read the stories and watch the news reports that have been milked by reporters, and hang them out to dry like we knew it all along, don’t we?  Now seemingly none of his sponsors aside from Nike will affiliate themselves with Tiger.  Maybe Nike finally saw an avenue to deflect all the sweatshop heat away from themselves.

Is this even a story if it happens to any non-celebrity? Minor traffic violations? Extra-marital affair accusations? Yeah, those never happen to anyone. Unfortunately this time, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer (or more famous/rich) guy. It doesn’t justify any of the afore mentioned actions, and granted, it’s no one’s fault but his own; but should all the media scrutiny just be chocked up to the price of being a world-renowned celebrity? If it were say, Dennis Rodman or Danny Bonaduce, this would all be “par for the course”(pun) and less people would care because there sort of things are almost expected from them. But “Super-Tiger” has finally shown a weakness, and that’s what’s really interesting to people, and worth exploitation to people looking to make money off of other people’s misfortunes. He’s human after all folks, alright, mystery solved. You guys really got him good this time. Everyone happy?

Leave the guy alone, and let him clean up his life, so he can get back to doing what he does best: being better than anyone else on Earth at golf. Sure he made some mistakes and he’s paying for them, but I’d rather see him continue to frustrate Phil Mickelson’s attempt to better his World Ranked #2 ceiling any day; not to mention thwarting any other golfer’s attempt to win a tournament that both he and Tiger are both in. Isn’t that the Tiger Woods we’d all rather watch, hear and read about?  Hopefully when Tiger makes his return to golf after this sabbatical to clean up his family life, golf fans will get to see the world’s best golfer do what he does best, and better than anyone else — golf.

Throughout the past few decades it has become a well-known fact that women get paid less than their male counterparts and have limited job opportunities in industries that primarily employ men.  The field of sports public relations has been a male-dominated industry for years, and until recently, women were laughed at when they showed interest in covering sports. From gaining access to gaining respect, women have had to overcome many obstacles while attempting to represent athletes and sports teams throughout North America. Women’s subordination in regards to the sports industry is a large problem in the public relations realm and nowhere is this more evident than in the field of baseball.

It has been stated that millions of people spend hours viewing, participating in, and avidly discussing sports.  To those people, women are non-existent in positions of authority.  In fact, a survey conducted in 2001 found that females hold just twenty-two percent of sports information and sports PR positions. What I feel is unjust is the fact that despite the dramatic increase in the number of young women participating in sports, there is not a corresponding number of women taking on the media aspect.

On the other hand, scholars, such as Zena Burgess believes that no longer is sports writing the exclusive domain of males, as the present appears to hold promise for women sports reporters. On that note, however, I feel should it should be debated whether these women, who appear to be breaking through, are being granted the same amount of power, authority or respect.  

For example, through analyzing the situation that occurred to female baseball reporter, Melissa Ludtke, one is able to recognize that although she was able to emerge into the sports PR field, there were still complications.  During the World’s Series in 1977, when the New York Yankees played the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ludtke was denied access to power and authority because she was restricted to access the players in the locker rooms. Although it was commonplace for a male reporter to enter and interview the baseball players immediately after the game, Ludtke was denied this power due to the fact that she was female.  

More importantly I also feel the statement that women in the field have been able to overcome their obstacles should be challenged as I believe that within many male-dominated professions, it only appears that women have surmounted as females have learned to succeed by utilizing their strengths through playing on their common stereotypes.  For instance, this can be observed through analyzing another female baseball reporter, Erin Andrews.  Upon evaluating her professional career, one can see that she has surpassed what has been declared by many scholars as the ‘glass ceiling’ and has found herself obtaining a job that has been reserved predominantly for men.

That being said, however, I still debate whether Andrews has actually overcome barriers as the media merely declares her as a ’sexy woman with a microphone.’ She is not being identified by her reporting skills in the way that successful male baseball reporters, such as Tommy Hutton or Gary Thorne would be. One can understand this more clearly though analyzing Mike Nadel’s comments on Andrews, as he declares that she is “a babe who clearly isn’t afraid to flaunt it, and who saunters around the visiting clubhouse, flirting from one player to another.”  This notion has allowed me to contest why Andrew’s and many other female reporters believe they must portray themselves as simply a sex symbol.  It’s evident that Andrews has enough qualifications and experience that she would get plenty of interviews and attention no matter what she looked like.  Another question that arises is whether Andrews brought it upon herself by wearing short dresses or if the male-dominated society created this culture.

Interestingly, it should be established that Andrews is not the exception, but the standard, as upon observing other women reporters similar problems occur.  Alex J. Robinson, a female reporter for, ‘In the Action Seat,’ interviewed Alex Rios, the right-fielder for the Toronto Blue Jays.  The interview took place after a game in which he went 4-for-5, which included hitting a pair of homeruns.  However, instead of discussing the great game that he played or enquiring how he was so successful at the plate, Robinson asked Rios unusual questions, including, “Is it hard being so beautiful?,” “Would Alex Rios rather wake up with no toes, or no hair?” and “If you were a pork-chop what kind of sauce would you cover yourself in?” Evidently, this depiction plays on the fact that men believe that women do not care about baseball and sports and would rather talk about one’s appearance or life preferences. Unfortunately, I have found that there are many other current examples of female reporters who have had to diminish their authority and power in hopes to have a memorable interview with a great baseball player.

I also believe that problems occur because of the belief that the sports PR field is inadequate for women as it has been declared as a time-intensive, week-end hours, deadline oriented, and never-see-daylight type of job. This notion emphasizes women’s stereotypes as it focuses on society’s depiction of women through their traditional sex roles, being caregivers, mothers and nurturers.  Additionally, time becomes a crucial element in considering why women have not gained entrance, as workers in the field, especially baseball, are known to work late hours and will always be outside the home due to constant travelling.

Mary Jo Haverbeck, a female sports writer for Penn State University’s baseball team also agrees that the field has become completely male-centered. She has been quoted stating that somebody has to break the glass ceiling to assist females who want to get into the sports profession as the numbers aren’t getting any higher for females as male athletic directors like to hire males so no one is reaching out to bring females in.  

That being said, as a female who hopes to someday become a sport writer or reporter, I can only hope that women’s opportunities are only going to get better. Let’s hope they stop striking out and hit a homerun!

By: Dustin Pollack

For hockey fans, it’s always a bitter sweet moment when any of the games big stars decide that the buzzer has sounded and its time to call it a career.

A few months ago the game said goodbye to Joe Sakic, who is 8^th all time in NHL scoring with 1641 points and his lethal wrist shot was known as arguably the best ever.

And a little more recently the game said farewell to Brendan Shanahan who sits 23^rd on the all time points list with 1354.

But for a lot of these retired stars, although leaving their skates, sticks, and helmets behind, their lives will forever be entrenched in the hockey world in some way or another.

Shanahan is now the NHL vice president of hockey and business, Mario Lemieux is the owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Wayne Gretzky was the former part owner of the Pheonix Coyotes and Ron Francis sits as the assistant coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, just to name a few former hockey heroes who have remained close to the game.

About a month ago it was announced that Mark Messier, 2^nd all time in regular season points with 1887, will lead Team Canada at the 2010 World Championships. Messier was named the general manager of the team.

Messier seems to be following in the footsteps of fellow former superstar Steve Yzerman who sits as the GM of Team Canada at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Yzerman was the GM of the World Championship team in 2007 and sits as the vice president of the Detroit Red Wings.

The announcement about Messier shouldn’t come as a shock to experts around the league as it was only a few months ago that Messier was named special assistant to the general manager of the New York Rangers.

Messier’s recent interest could only bring the same type of assumption that is of Steve Yzerman, that one day Messier will find himself to be the general manager of an NHL franchise.

But until then it’s nice to see another one of the games greatest leaders leading once again.

By: Dustin Pollack

This year’s Vancouver Olympics marks the 30^th anniversary of the illustrious “miracle” which took place when the U.S.A ice hockey team took down the powerhouse Soviet Union 4-3 in the semi finals on route to winning the gold medal. The victory against the Soviets was coined “the miracle on ice” and is seen as one of the greatest underdog triumphs in sports history.

Since the gold medal victory nearly 30 years ago the American ice hockey team has only medaled once in the Olympics, that being a silver medal when they lost to Canada at the Salt Lake City games in 2002.

Going into Vancouver the Canadian, Russian and the defending champion Swedes are seen as the avorites to compete for the medals.

Skating swiftly under the radar are the Americans.

Backstopping the Americans quest for a medal is Buffalo Sabres goaltender, Ryan Miller. Miller who is in the top three of almost every NHL goalie stat category has the Sabres streaking through the Northeast Divison and the Eastern Conference. Great goaltending is an integral part to Olympic success. In 2006 in was Martin Gerber’s 49 saves which allowed Switzerland to upset the much favored Canadians 2-0 in the preliminary round.

On defense it a mix of young, old, offensive and defensive. L.A Kings, Jack Johnson and St. Louis Blues, Erik Johnson are the youngest in the mix of defenseman with Detroit Red Wings, Brian Rafalski being the veteran and main offensive talent on the back end. With a mix of solid physicality from Pittsburgh Penguins, Brooks Orpik and Toronto Maple Leafs, Mike Komisarek and extra offensive touch from New Jersey Devils, Paul Martin and Nashville Predators, Ryan Suter this defense has the ability to be crafty and punishing.

Up front the American squad has no lack of scoring prowess. Leading the way Chicago Blackhawks, Patrick Kane, New Jersey Devils, Zach Parise and Colorado Avalanche, Paul Stastny. The three youngsters are all in the mix of the NHL’s top 15-point getters. With secondary scoring coming from Anaheim Ducks, Bobby Ryan, Vancouver Canucks, Ryan Kesler, Toronto Maple Leafs, Phil Kessel, Tampa Bay Lightning, Ryan Malone and New Jersey Devils Jamie Langenbrunner.

The one major flaw in the American lineup may be there lack of experience however, with a team of this kind of talent one has to wonder how important experience really is. Just ask Patrick Kane, whose young Chicago Blackhawks were written off as “too young” in the 2009 playoffs before rolling all the way to the Western Conference Final.

The Americans are in no way shape or form favored to win gold in Vancouver or even medal however, if the youngsters were able to pull it off it would be no miracle.