Saturday, March 24, 2012

Did You See That: Sports Resorts

If you didn't see this bit of news, Spanish football giant Real Madrid plans to build a $1 billion resort in the Persian Gulf just off the coast of the UAE. This resort will include a club museum, a marina shaped like the club's logo, an amusement park, and a stadium with one end open to the sea. What you might not know, is that other teams have decided to do the same thing. Here is the inside scoop on those resorts, with stuff you may not have seen across the ESPN news banner.

Chicago Cubs: This new resort will have a museum dedicated to the 104 years of sports history since they won the World Series, and they also have a dedicated room in the museum just for a Steve Bartman punching bag.

Toronto Maple Leafs: The "Don Cherry Memorial Room" is a special exhibit dedicated to the best Ontarians to ever play for the Leafs housed inside the Leafs history museum, and they also have a large countdown clock to the NHL Entry Draft Lottery outside. Also, Hockey Night in Canada plans to air the grand opening ceremony, which the other 29 teams in the NHL are not happy about...

Los Angeles Clippers: Hey wait, it's just an empty plot of scorched earth...

New York Jets: Tim Tebow World, Coming Soon!

Denver Broncos: Resort staff are trying desperately to fix the pool in the shape of the number 15 to 18 before the grand opening, but Kyle Orton is too busy swimming in the pool, which may be filled with tears...

Vancouver Canucks: Entry to the resort is free, provided you bring a riot shield and you don't mention the number 7.

Cleveland Indians: The featured attraction is a dunk tank with Jose Mesa, and also you can send out a swarm of bugs at a manikin of Joba Chamberlain in another exhibit.

Oklahoma City Thunder: The official coffee of the resort is Starbucks, and Seattle fans have protested in response, wondering what else Oklahoma City will steal from the Emerald City. Turns out, Clay Bennett was setting up a Mariners resort next door...

Miami Dolphins: It only costs 5 dollars to stare at a burning dumpster fire for 30 minutes.

University of Florida: Tim Tebow World, now with a new "how to Tebow" exhibit. You could also talk to Billy Donovan about the Gators basketball team, but funny how he cringes around the number 8...

Blackburn Rovers:  "Fire Steve Kean" banners only cost 3 pounds, with the pitchfork and torch costing extra.





Thursday, March 22, 2012

What's Journalism Anyway?

We've entered a new era in terms of reporting and journalism. It used to be you'd have to wait until the morning after something happened to see it in your local sports section. We now have the ability to know of news the second it happens, and have everyone in the world comment on it, instantly. And, it also means any clown with a computer can write something and have it be taken seriously (wink, wink). So we now come upon the masterclass in terms of goof with a computer writing crap and have it being taken seriously: Mike Florio.

Florio writes for a blog called ProFootballTalk if you didn't know, and he's made appearances on NBC's football related shows talking about the news of the minute. He was under the radar until NBC bought out the website and brought it under their sports umbrella. Once that happened, he and his site became go to's for where to get the latest news and analysis on the NFL. Whether that should have happened or not is up to your judgment, but anyway. With that new found fame, he can write almost anything and think he's immune to criticism. Well, that's stopping now.

Florio has a grudge against the Jacksonville Jaguars. For what reason, I couldn't tell you. He makes it known very clearly in everything he writes about them. Whether it's calling the Jaguars a joke for their personnel moves, that they are stupid for not getting Tim Tebow, or they are moving to LA within the first 15 seconds of publishing, he loves to rant and rave about how much they suck. But, that shouldn't take away from the fact that even bloggers should have some journalistic integrity. Some people who have that power still have to learn that.

For example, in a piece written about the Jaguars and Tebow before Tebow moved to the Jets, Florio slipped in a reference to how GM Gene Smith could be fired after the draft. This was tightly slipped into the piece, with the addendum, "He may be leaving after the draft, but that's a rumor to be mongered later". Now, there are so many things that are wrong with this statement that I could rant and rave about it for another 2 whole posts, but that's not the point. Why would you slip something in like this that has no basis in fact and is just a rumor mongered by Florio to rack up hits? The lack of integrity in this is astounding, and it makes no sense even when you consider Florio has a grudge. But then of course, it has to get better.

After Tebow was traded to the Jets, Florio wrote a 10-pack on the move. 9 of them were about the Jets, and the very last one was about the Jaguars. He wrote the same tripe he had been about the Jaguars and Tebow since the start of the 2009 regular season, just recycled and thrown in another piece. He assumes it will end with Tebow in Jacksonville, not taking into account that the Jaguars could actually win in that time frame. And, if the Jets are so enamored with him, why would they trade him now? It makes no sense when you even take a cursory glance at it, let alone when you actually use your brain and think.

As a Jaguars fan, I do take offense to some of the things that Florio has written. I guess because the Jaguars are for sure not moving, Florio has to satisfy his "annoy the 2 Jaguars fans there are" quota by mongering stuff about Tebow. But, this should offend everyone. He could do this to your team next, and it is just not fair. Everyone who has a large platform to write and spread their thoughts has to be mindful of what they say and who they are saying it to, because you never know who is going to believe the stuff that is wrong.

This isn't true journalism, this isn't even the muddled form of journalism that we have today. This is rumor mongering at its finest, and he's no better than Incarcerated Bob or Eklund (if you don't know who they are, look them up). It's not fair to anyone, and it surely isn't fair to the people that are being insulted and lied to. It makes no sense how one NBC blog, ProHockeyTalk, is one of the best on the web, while their football counterpart is the diametric opposite.

Look before you leap, my fair readers. Because you one day, could land in the lap of someone who doesn't want you to know the truth.