Justin Abdelkader Hit

MSU alumnus, Justin Abdelkader, is arguably off to his best start in his eighth season with the Detroit Red Wings. Abdelkader had 15 points in just 24 games played, scoring 7 goals and 8 assists.

Unfortunately, Abdelkader was victim to a vicious hit from Luca Sbisa in late November. He suffered a separated shoulder and initially was day-to-day. The following day, the Red Wings announced he would miss two weeks with an upper body injury.

See the hit here:

Abdelkader has been a big reason for the Red Wings early success this year. He has been producing points and has been a force to be reckoned with in front of the net. Drawing comparisons from Red Wing’s great Tomas Holmstrom

Abdelkader returned to practice prior to the Red Wings, 2-1, over the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The Red Wings will need Abdelkader’s fearlessness and leadership back on the ice to stay at the top of a competitive Eastern Conference.

Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings dropped another shoot out loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1. The Wings snapped a three-game winning streak at Joe Louis Arena but earned a point to get to 17-6-6 in the 2014 season.

See the recap here:

http://redwings.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/recap?id=2014020419

The Wings notched their 40^th point of the season and are at the top of the Eastern Conference. Young guys on the team such as Tomas Tatar, Tomas Jurco, and Gustav Nyquist continue to step up for Detroit.

However, there has been a lot of production from a variety of lines. Points have been evenly distributed so far this season and has allowed Detroit to complete several come from behind victories.

Last night, Gus Nyquist put the Wings up early against their Atlantic rivals, the Tornoto Maple Leafs. However, a defensive breakdown resulted in a Phil Kessel goal in the third period to tie the game.

Red Wings shootout struggles continued as Pavel Datsyuk scored the only goal. Both Nyquist and Tatar were denied respectively. Jimmy Howard, who has been outstanding this season for the Red Wings, gave up two goals in the shootout. Both goals were through his five-hole and concerns about the Wings  performance during shootouts needs to be addressed.

Rick Porcello Trade

Things are heating up around the MLB as winter meetings began this December. Representatives from all 30 teams gather for four days full of transactions and trades, commonly known as “MLB’s hot stove.”

The Detroit Tigers made a big trade today dealing right-handed pitcher Rick Porcello to the Boston Red Sox for Cuban slugger Yoenis Cespedes. Porcello has been with the Tigers since 2009 and has six seasons of starting pitcher under his belt at the young age of 25.

Porcello has proven himself a reliable starting pitcher, winning 28 games over the past two seasons. He made his living with Tigers getting a lot of groundouts and few walks. In 2014, he ranked 20^th among qualified starters with a  walks/nine inning rate of 1.80.

Cespedes will be welcomed with open arms in the Motor City. Cespedes provides a big arm in leftfield, which has been a missing piece in the Tigers outfield recently. He showed off his arm strength twice last year against the Los Angeles Angles. First, gunning Howie Kendrick at home and he nailed Albert Pujols at the third base.

Cespedes will also make the pitcher’s ballpark in Comerica look much smaller with his power. In 2014, he hit 22 homeruns and had a slugging percentage of .450.

I have always been a fan of Rick Porcello. He received a lot of criticism in the early stages of his career for not producing to his potential. However, Porcello won a lot of Tigers fans the past two seasons. I think it was a good trade for both the Tigers and Red Sox but I’m still sad to see Ricky P go. Here is my personal favorite Rick Porcello moment in his time spent with the Tigers.

Some Other Way Analysis

The powerful video, Some Other Way, tells the story of a MMA fighter who reenters the ring after a three year hiatus from the sport.

The video does an excellent job unfolding the character, by revealing his past and personality.

The beginning of the video creates a strong connection, after an audiovisual hook of James Cordero, states he’s been sober for 27 days.

After revealing his problem with addiction, Cordero shares his struggles with being bullied and as a child and that he’s been fighting his entire life.

By sharing his past, a deeper connection and understanding of Cordero’s personality is created between the viewer.

Also, sharing his past of addiction and bullying reveals that’s what motivates him to recover and become a better person.

As Cordero reveals more about himself, it is clear that he has neglected his family in the past due to his drug and alcohol use.

However,  his upcoming helps him to realize that his family is most important thing in his life and drugs and alcohol constantly were in the way.

There are a variety of tight and wide images throughout the video.

The video begins with a wide shot of the city that sets the mood for the rest of the video.

During the phone conversation, there are tights showing Cordero’s hands, eyes and fists that show his intensity as a person. 

After the fight, there is a powerful image of Cordero pointing up to the sky with the natural sound from the crowd which was very powerful.

The music and natural sound in this video were also very strong. 

Although there is only one song the entire video, it gradually builds as Cordero opens up about his life and eventually wins the fight.

Also, in the beginning during the phone call, there is natural sound of sirens which intensifies the message of his problem with addiction.

I really enjoyed this video, not only as a fan of MMA, but because of the connection created with Cordero.

 

 

 

 

How Twitter changed sports and the media

In the modern era, sports fans can follow and connect with their favorite athletes more than ever on social media.

In turn, Twitter has changed the world of sports forever, for good and bad.

Athletes use Twitter to influence their fans or to land themselves in hot water.

For example, Detroit Lion’s wide receiver Nate Burelson is the vocal leader for the Lions on the field and the web.

Recently, Burleson tweeted that every pass he drops in the 2013 season he would donate $100 to Detroit elementary schools.

A great use of Twitter to gain support from Lions and NFL fans from across the country.

Unfortunately, following his break out game against the Chicago Bears in week four, Burleson was involved in a car accident that broke his arm.

Alcohol or drugs were not involved in the accident; but pizza was.

Burelson took to Twitter again, showing his sense of humor, and tweeted a photo of the accident and pizza in the car.

Burleson uses Twitter to show his fans his vibrant personality.

However, many athletes use Twitter in a negative way.

No stranger to the headlines, former NFL wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, has been fined numerous times in his flashy NFL career.

Ochocinco has been fined for tweeting prior to games and even at halftime of games.

Although it was funny to see these tweets; the last thing a owner wants to see is tweeting and not playing.

Social media has also dramatically changed the world of sports media.

For example, on sports programs use Twitter to interact with viewers.

Fans can use #SCtop10 to vote for their favorite plays of the week; and may even find their twitter handle on live television.

In conclusion, Twitter has advanced sports into the modern era and has made viewing and discussing sports more enjoyable for fans.

At the same time, it takes away from the traditional aspect of the game that many old school sports fans hate to see go.

 

Journalists Have New Competition, Robots

Why pursue a career in a dying profession?

A fair but unsettling question every twentry-something aspirimg journalist is asked at least once in their early undergraduate careers.

In the modern era of technology, the days when newspapers were the mains source of spreading the news to the masses seems prehistoric to the modern journalist.

With the emergence of social media, news travels from person to person in mere seconds.

It’s evident to be successful journalist in the modern era you must be an exceptional writer and have a wide range of skills.

Journalists will also  be pitted against some of the best and brightest college grads in a very slim job pool.

However, I’m sure many young journalists didn’t think they would be competing for a job against a robot.

Yes, a robot.

A robot, with automated software, was engineered to turn baseball statistics into readable facts.

The results were dry but the robots facts were accurate and to the point.

One question stands: is the future of sports journalism in jeopardy?

I don’t believe so, the robot’s writing was factual but it lacked, for better words, a human element.

Sports reporting is about putting the reader into the grand stands at the game and getting inside access to the players and coaches thoughts and personalities.

Not spewing out statistics that can be google searched in seconds.

Successful sports reporters like Detroit’s own Mitch Albom draw readers in with creative leads and use their expertise to describe the implications of the game or upcoming series.

What were Jim Leyland’s thought as he puffed on a cigarette after a tight AL Central match up in the midst of a Pennant race?

How is Miguel Cabrera feeling after re-tweeking his hip?

This is what readers seek, the inside details behind the game, not just stats.

Although the robot’s feat is undeniabely brilliant.

I think sports reporters will continue to keep followers updated with their tweets and columns for now.

Until a more impressive software is created..

 

How Jay Bilas Exposed the NCAA

In the modern era of NCAA athletics, there is one burning question that is debated by the media and all of sports fans: should NCAA athletes be paid?

Most recently, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel landed himself in hot water after a photo of himself signing a pile of photographs was leaked prior to the 2013 season.

There is a fine line between amateurism and professionalism in NCAA athletics. The use of athletes’ likeness is rigorously monitored by NCAA officials in an attempt to maintain amateurism in collegiate athletics.

Therefore, after the photo was leaked, the NCAA immediately launched an investigation to discover if he violated his amateur status.

However, the media, in particular ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, exposed the hypocrisy of the NCAA’s investigation via social media.

Bilas tweeted a photo of Manziel’s No. 2 Texas A&M jersey from the NCAA website.

He discovered collegiate athletes’ jerseys could be found  by searching by a player’s name.  A clear violation of the NCAA’s rule on the use of athletes’ likeness.

With a single tweet, Bilas exposed the corruptness of the NCAA.

In the modern information era, the media is more powerful than ever.

Only hours after the tweet was posted, the keyword search on the website was disabled.

The media has used it power of words to sway public opinion, for good or bad, since the newspaper.

However, now a tweet with 140 characters and a simple screen shot can expose any organization, big or small.