What to do with no NFL?

It's a Tuesday in the third week of July. You're 12-years-old. You've played out your baseball season, took the annual family beach trip, and watched enough reruns of Yes Dear that you find yourself quoting Mike O'Malley.

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So what are you going to do now with your abundance of free time?

This fall NFL fans may find themselves asking a similar questions if the league and Players Union fail to reach an agreement prior to the September 8th start date.

Last week fans were encouraged by the NFL releasing its official 2011 schedule. It was short lived though, as Wednesday it was learned the two groups were no closer to a handshake following their four days of court-ordered meetings and have no plans to meet again until May. 

With the league's popularity at an all time high - over 50-percent of the 2010 top-rated television being NFL contests - plenty of folks will have more than a little free time on their hands. So how will they fill this void?

The answers from southwest Virginia NFL fans were anything but clear cut.

"I'll probably pay more attention to hockey," Maine-transplant Tim Coyle answered. "I mean I always pay attention to it, but when it's football season, it's football season."

Turning to  another sport seems to be a pretty popular option. Baseball ends in October, the NHL and NBA pick up around Halloween, and of course for the gridiron die-hards the college football season will remain intact.

"There will still be football on Sundays, just maybe not the NFL" Allen Williams stated. He may be very right as the Pac-12 has already made it clear they are ready to bleed into Sunday should the NFL leave the day open and one would like other conferences would follow.


Others think they might become a participate rather than a spectator to fill this void.

Local golf courses would be the most likely benefactor of here, as most respondents indicated mixing in 18 holes on a Sunday would be a nice filler. A smaller number of folks declared they would spend their free time in other type of physical activities - going to the gym, hiking, etc. - but there was a slight New Year's resolution-esque ring to their statements.

So what about folks whose livelihoods are in some way dependent on the league? What will they do?

Shaun Hoy, who pens the weekly fantasy football column for The Roanoke Times, knows one thing is certain. "I'll do a lot less writing" he immediately responded when the topic rose, highlighting the formula: No NFL = No Fantasy Football = No need for advice on benching Terrel Owens.

Shaun's not sure what he'll do to fill the column's gap. He toyed with the idea of a fantasy bowling column, but upon the acknowledgment Roy Munson and Jeffery Lebowski are not "real" bowlers the idea began to lose its steam.


Is this what Sundays in the future will look like?

Though the time-filling options varied, what didn't was the initial response to the question. Disbelief.

Not a single person actually believed the NFL would sit out the 2011 season. In fact there's a good chance the typical first response from fans would have been about the same if I'd have been inquiring about their plans for when aliens attack.

Clearly the situation's urgency has yet to be fully embraced despite the very real possibility of NFL-less Sundays as little as five months away.

Maybe that's why it took some folks a minutes to ponder what they would do. Maybe that's why some of the responses seemed a little unlikely and perhaps, a little less than honest. Surely this will change if the two sides remain at odds as the season grows nearer.

If this is the case I expect far fewer people to go with the P90X option and far more to join up with the lady who responded that she would be devistated and to fill the time would "drink.... a lot."

So what will you do if the 2011 NFL season never comes?

Athletes deserve a shot at redemption too

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Sunday as Tiger Woods threatened to break his win-less streak by hanging around the top of the leader board at Augusta, a strong feeling, almost tangible feeling began to creep around the country.

No, not the feeling of folks pulling for him to win and rock the green coat again - though that was present as well - but rather a feeling of detest and cheers of his failure from those who long ago yelled "unclean!" and swore him off to live his life out beside Judah Ben-Hur's family in the leper caves.

(**Anyone over the age of 25 who hasn't seen Ben-Hur should:
1. Be ashamed and 2. Write on your hand that you immediately must watch it.)

Of course Tiger is not alone when it comes to athletes carrying the "villain" label and being rooted against. Athletes such Mike Vick, Ben Roethlisberger, and most recently a gay-slur shouting Kobe Bryant, are among the ranks of those attempting to pull themselves out of the sports-villain leper cave and rebuild their image.


Fans casting out fallen athletes and even basking in the failures is as commonplace today as a warm beer at Wrigley Field in July, but how long should this go on? How long is too much? At some point we as fans need to stop being so hesitant in affording high profile athletes the same opportunity to change, reinvent, and even redeem themselves that any average person would get.

In regards the the Kobe Bryant situation, Friday morning on ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike NBA commissioner David Stern reminded listeners that athletes are humans and everyone has flaws. A hard point for any honest person to argue.

But doesn't that mean everyone is kind of in the same semi-sinking ship? If this is the case why do fans seem so hesitant to toss athletes a life jacket or even just some arm floaties?

Maybe part of the answer lies in our hypercritical nature towards nose picking.

Everyone picks their nose. Fact. But everyone is also completely and utterly disgusted when they catch someone else digging for gold. Despite having fingers just as dirty, folks act appalled to see someone else partaking in such a filthy practice.
 
Multiple this by about 50,000 and that's the level of disgust the common fan has once the TMZs of the world have pasted a few appalling acts of a popular athlete all over television and the internet. Despite said fan having a few faults of his or her own, seeing the athlete's failure dissected on a national level, right or wrong, sends the shameful meter through the roof.

Of course when this is feed to the public in an open-24-hours buffet-style fashion another issue quickly arises; everyone, regardless of age, can reach the soft-serve knob and completely ruin a dinner of healthy morality. 

With the door open for children to see their "heroes" in less-than-heroic fashion a panic is created among many parents, causing many of them to slam the door on the possibility of cheering on the athlete.

For some this is the simplest solution. Slap the athlete with a "bad" person label and call it a life.

But ESPN's Bill Simmon's offers a different take in his column regarding his son watching Tiger Woods.

Rather than blast Tiger and ban his son from ever sporting the TW logo, Simmons wants his son to understand athletes aren't perfect people and that they have faults too.

He wants his son to learn how to appreciate the greatness of the athlete, while understanding everything the athlete does might not be great, or even good. Heck, sometimes it might be flat out awful, but Simmons doesn't want this to floor his son. He would rather the youngster be able to take it in stride, while still valuing the athletes abilities, while also understanding that everyone falls.

For a lot of folks this is easier said than done.  Separating an athlete's checkered past from on-field accomplishments, the old "hate the sin, love the sinner" act, doesn't come as easy as it sounds. In fact some seem to refuse even considering it.

So let's speak to the super righteous and go Sunday School for a moment.

How many people have ever objected to cheering on David as he takes down Goliath and proceeds to cut off his head?

What?! None???

Isn't this the same dude who watched a lady take a bath on her roof, knocked her up, and in tried a massive cover-up operation, which ended with murdering her husband? Where was TMZ? They should have been all on this!

That's pretty hardcore, yet folks don't sentence David and his highlight reel to a lifetime in the leper cave. Instead they look at his faults as mistakes to learn from and his redemption as a how-to guide for recovery.

What if a similar attitude was taken with athletes?

What if we focused on learning from their mistakes, rather casting them out?

No matter who you are, there must be consequences for our actions. There must be a punishment. But serving a punishment should not forever eliminate the opportunity for a person to change.

Should athletes be held to a higher standard because of their public roles? Yes!

Do some athletes deserved to be punished, criticized, and even mocked at times for their ignorant and irresponsible actions? Yes!


Will every athlete learn from his or her mistakes and change directions? Nope!

But if fans, the media, and even fellow athletes are going to be bold enough to openly rant over the negative, when an athlete does take the steps to fix things let them be equally bold enough to recognize and accept it.

The Back Porch Podcast with guest Celtics Town's Jay King!

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This week we had a special guest hang on the Back Porch, as Jay King from CelticsTown.com stopped by to talk a little NBA.
He shared his thoughts on the Kendrick Perkins trade, the upcoming playoffs, and Brian Scalabrine's dance moves.






Thanks to Jay,  a must follow on Twitter for all sports fans!

Take a listen and drop your thoughts!







Oh and about that sweet sweet dancing...

Thundercats HOOO!!

Things are getting a little crazy over on third earth today as folks welcome home the Thundercats as the 80's cartoon tournament champion. The celebration kicked off early as the Thunder Tank took to the streets with tourney MVP Lion-O atop tossing candy, beads, and beanie baby Snarfs to the crowd.

The parade's destination was the Cat's Liar, where the 2011 banner was hung from the jaw of the cat head, Jaga gave a wise, but overly long speech, and Panthro attempted to do the Dougie.

 Tons of fans showed up for the festivities, but these were by far the most awkward.

Rumors are rampant, yet unconfirmed, that Katy Perry and Jay-Z will preform a Thundercats theme-Firework-Run This Town mash up  at the after party this evening. Charlie Sheen has officially been  to the Sword of Omens no-entry list.

Also, President Obama placed a phone call to the Cats in which he invited them to the White House this summer. 

The 80's Cartoon Championship!

Well this is it. Ducks Tales and The Thundercats have taken the journey through the bracket and now stand alone in deciding who will walk away with a sweet set of celebratory slap bracelets.

Let's take a little look at the pros and cons for each group.
The Thundercats 
Pros:

The Thunder Tank. Is there a cooler cartoon vehicle? Hard to imagine. It jumps, its claws extend, and it even has that chair you can shoot missiles from.

 The Sword of Omens is just flat out presidential. Not only does it serve as a weapon, it also has that sweet sight-beyond-sight feature and can throw out the Cat's spot light letting everyone know the party is on!

 
Cheetara. Enough said.







Cons:
Spandex can get awkward, especially after a big meal.

Snarf is pretty much dead weight when it comes to doing anything.

Duck Tales 
Pros:

Money pit. Sure it might hurt at first, but come on. There is a bulldozer full of gold coins in there!

Killer NES game. Thumb blisters? Tape 'em up and roll.

Gizmoduck. Though I'm not real sure how the whole legs to wheel transition works, this guy was the Duckburg's version of Robocop.










Cons:

None of the ducks were really that much fun to pretend to be, especially not the Huey, Dewey, or Louie. Color coordinate a hat and shirt and you're pretty much done.

There was never one solid villain and even if there had of been, the Ducks seemed more worried about teaching morality than punishing bad guys.

So the decision is up to you. Both are worth, but you have the final call!

Sports Writing in the New Media World

Upon completing my degree in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University I hope to combine my passions for people, sports, and humor in a career in the sports media field. This could mean working for a media outlet, such as a newspaper or television station, or working directly with the public relations department of either a professional or collegiate team. I believe either would provide me the opportunity to grow as a journalist, storyteller, and community builder, as well as making going to work everyday a blast!

So why sports?

Though my life I've worked in a variety of different fields. Schools, churches, door-to-door replacement window sales - which I do NOT advise unless you enjoy being cursed at by elderly women - all of which have had one common thread, connecting with people. And though I've tried other vehicles for achieving this, sports and humor have always been my go-to moves. Writing, broadcasting, and just talking about sports has allowed me to connect with people of all ages, backgrounds, and interest levels with an equal level of success.

Regarding the hiring process, Justin Jarrett of The Island Packet once told me the most important thing was to have quality clips of my work. Despite having a first name for a last name, I believe him. Showing, not only that I am capable of producing quality work, but that I speak with an unique voice in doing so, will be critical in gaining a potential employers attention.

Because of this I believe first step to the hiring process is to provide a quality sample or portfolio of work. I began this process over a year ago with my work at SportsPageNetwork.com.

The next step is what I like to refer to as the job-seeking stage. This will likely include searching websites and online job forums, such as JournalismJobs.com, as well as networking with any and all professional in the field. I will most likely conjure up some of my old door-to-door abilities for this large-scale door knocking process.

Once a potential employer does decide to answer the door and take a look my product, hopefully an interview will result. During this I plan to explain my passions and goals, as well as the benefits I can provide them with. I believe it is important to show employers you have a vision for not only yourself, but how you can impact them.

A crucial part of this vision will be how I plan to utilize digital media and social networking in a way that will benefit them.

For this I can not emphasis enough how important a Twitter account can be. Your typical newspaper writer produces one, maybe two, articles per day. That's a really narrow window for connecting with his or her audience and generally it's one-way. Twitter can provide an almost unlimited amount of connections, as well as instant feedback. This connection allows the writer to become real to the audience. No longer is this just a sports writer, this is a person who has a dog, who loves Colby cheese, or who had a seventh grade crush on Kelly Kapowski. As this relationship grows, the writers' readership grows, and a community is formed.

There may not be a better Twitter follow than ESPN columnist Bill Simmons. Over 1,368,000 followers can't be wrong!

And yes that is back-to-back Saved by the Bell references, don't judge.

Another way sports writers can use digital media is through blogging. Short, informal pieces produced on a frequent and regular basis can also help cultivate the writer-reader relationship, while also providing the reader with a sense of ownership and pride over the relationship. Suddenly the local columnist becomes "my columnist" who writes for "my paper" because the reader feels they are actively engaged in some level of creation. The to making this happen though is the writers' willingness to constantly engage with the readings and acknowledge them from time to time in his or her other works.

Aaron McFarling's blog at The Roanoke Times is a prime example of this. His Daily Briefing provides his readers with quick glance of the news in the sports world, plenty of links, and a format on which to comment. He also, on occasion, hosts live chats with his readers via his blog during sporting events. Both of these activities are effective because Aaron is actively engaged on a regular basis, responding to comments, asking direct questions to his readers, and simply making them feel valued in general.

I also believe a strong sports writer should be knowledgeable of the process of capturing and sharing video online. Since the majority of time the topics being discussed surround events, there is great strength in being able to show readers the event or at the very least guide them in the appropriate direction for finding it on their own. Also, if a writer is capable of producing and editing videos, the opportunities for enhancing his or her text will grow tremendously, as well as the opportunities for the continued growth of his or her community of readers because of the level of intimacy video provides. Let's face it, even if it's thirty seconds of footage around the newsroom, someone will watch it and because of it feel a connection to the writer.

ESPN's Sportsnation does a great job of incorporating simple videos into their programs.

Granted this video isn't going to win any awards, well aside from the ones SportsNation gives itself, but its simplistic nature achieves a level of intimacy which makes the viewer feel as if he or she is in an elite club. It grows the writer/broadcaster-reader/viewer relationship, giving the latter a reason to return for future viewing or reading.

These are of course just scratch the surface of the way digital media can and should be used to enhance the world of sports writing and broadcasting, but are three of the most crucial areas. I believe the most successful journalism are those who build solid relationships with their readers and make those readers feel valued. Digital media can play a huge role in accomplishing both of those goals.