11/17/2009

List of Sources

www.deadspin.com

www.sportsbybrooks.com

www.mmajunkie.com

www.tsn.ca

www.foxsports.com

The leagues official websites; i.e. nhl.com, nfl.com, etc.

Six Sites I Go To For Info

www.deadspin.com:

Deadspin is a great website that features stories on major and less mainstream sports stories. The stories are written with a very humorous slant and are very entertaining. It generally features stories from baseball and football predominantly. A unique part of the site is unlike other sites where anyone can comment on a story, users have to audition by posting several good comments before you are given unlimited commenting power. I use this site to get ideas for stories to write about because they feature unique stories you won’t find on mainstream sports websites. I read it very frequently so it helps me know how to write an entertaining and funny sports story while being informative.

www.sportsbybrooks.com:

This website is very similar to deadspin in that it features a variety of sports stories that are well-known and less-known. The articles are done from a humorous angle as well yet I prefer deadspin. One thing I don’t like about this site is they tend to have a more “TMZ” style on their website and write about stories that are sometimes either have little or no relevance to the actual sport. I use this site to get a different perspective on sports stories and also to get ideas on what I should write about.

www.mmajunkie.com:

This website reports on the latest stories in mixed martial arts. I use this site because MMA is not yet reported on in the same way the major sports like football are. This site reports on the major to minor stories in the sport and is the site I use to get all of my mixed martial arts information. If I am going to write a story on mixed martial arts I search the site archives for stories to get ideas, statistics, or quotes.

www.tsn.ca:

TSN is the biggest sports network in Canada and is the equivalent to ESPN in the U.S. It is the best site to get hockey news and is usually the first website to break any stories relating to hockey. It is also good for getting CFL info. I use it for that purpose because hockey is the most popular sport in Canada so it is logical to write stories on hockey although I feel the Canadian sports media is often much too focused on hockey and often the other sports are put on the back-burner. TSN is not a good site for news on any other sports besides hockey and do not usually offer any useful commentary with their stories.

www.foxsports.com:

This site is similar to www.espn.com but I prefer this one because it has an easier layout to find what you want and there aren’t as many ads and videos running so it is faster and easier to look at. This site is good to get information on any of the major stories in major sports. It isn’t great for sports that aren’t the bigger sports in the U.S. like hockey or MMA, but for the major American sports like football, baseball, basketball, and American college sports. I use it for that purpose, again like sites that cover a lot of different sports it doesn’t offer great commentary but it is good to get a perspective and get the key points to the major stories.

The leagues official website:

Their official sites like nfl.com, nhl.com, mlb.com, nba.com, etc. are good to get any basic information on that league. They do not offer any commentary or worthwhile stories but they are the best place to get information on team’s schedule’s, player statistics, league standings, etc.

11/11/2009

My Bio and Intro

Bio of Marc Hennebury written by Belinda Degrow:

There can be a lot said for the power of passion in sport. Marc Hennebury, 18 of Ottawa, came to Laurier Brantford to study journalism. But while journalism is his major, sports are his passion. Hoping to one day go into sports reporting , Hennebury says that while he does not consider himself an athlete per say, he has had a general love of the game for as long as he can remember.
This love of the game has taken the form of a long-time affiliation with hockey and basketball, both played by Hennebury in Canada and the United States. While living in California for a brief period, Hennebury excelled at hockey, bringing his quintessentially Canadian skills to play in a region not quite as invested in the power of the puck.
However, hockey was not the only thing that held his interest and so Hennebury also became involved in basketball, which he describes as having been more difficult for him. “When I lived in California I was better at hockey and struggled at basketball...when I moved back to Ottawa it flipped and I was an ok hockey player and one of the strongest basketball players.”
While Laurier Brantford does not have any varsity teams that Hennebury can try out for, the campus does offer a variety of intramurals including dodge ball, volleyball, and yes, basketball and hockey. When asked if he would be interested in going out for intramurals this year, Hennebury said yes.

Intro:

The purpose of my blog is to write about the less publicized stories in sports. A lot goes on in the sports world that you won’t hear about if you only watch the large sports conglomerates like ESPN or TSN. I want to talk about these stories and give my opinion while infusing my sense of humour in the stories. My blog will be different from other people’s blogs on similar topics because I have a unique style of writing that will add a different element to the same stories. Also most popular blogs and websites are based in the U.S. and pay little or no attention to leagues that are popular in Canada like the NHL or the CFL. I plan to give these sports the attention they deserve and won’t discriminate against curling because it isn’t popular in America. I am following my topic by visiting several sport’s blogs and websites and listening to podcasts to stay constantly up to date on sports stories.

10/20/2009

Athletes and Twitter

Professional athletes have been going Twitter crazy lately, here are some of the more entertaining posts.

Cardinal’s wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald’s younger brother Marcus posted on his Twitter that Larry was upset with his quarterback Kurt Warner.
“Just got off the phone with my brother. he’s happy about the win. But PISSED he didn’t get the ball thrown 2 him much!”

Washington Redskin rookie Tweeted this about the fans in Washington:
“All you fake half hearted Skins fan can .. I won’t go there but I dislike you very strongly, don’t come to Fed Ex to boo dim wits!!”
He also wrote: “The question is who are you to say you know what’s best for the team and you work 9 to 5 at Mcdonalds.”

Athletes and Coaches have been having trouble with people making fake accounts on Twitter. Leafs GM Brian Burke had this problem, having these posts made under his name:
“Howard Berger has been walking around with scrambled egg in his moustache all day. Should I tell him?”
“Found out the guy who works at the sandwich counter in the lunchroom is European. Fired him.”

The San Diego Chargers fined CB Antonio Cromartie $2,500 for criticizing the team’s food via Twitter:
“Man we have 2 have the most nasty food of any team. Damn can we upgrade 4 str8 years the same ish maybe that’s y we can’t we the SB we need.”

The New York Knicks Nate Robinson and New Jersey Nets Terence Williams Tweeted while they were being pulled over by the police:
Robinson: “Cops pulled me over cuz my windows were 2 dark (but my windows were down) lol how funny is that.”
Williams: “being pulled over is so funnnnny now I got to go get him mannnnnnnnn”

Chad Ochocinco announced he would do the Lambeau Leap if he scored a TD (both of which he did) against the Packers:
“I enjoy the Dog Pound (in Cleveland) when I jump in there. They embrace me. I’m looking for the Cheeseheads to embrace Ocho also.”

Bills WR Terrell Owens slammed former Patriots Safety Rodney Harrison, currently an announcer for ESPN, after calling Owens a clown:
“I could less about Rodney Harrison! Anybody tht using steroids, yes STEROIDS rodney, is a cheater & cheated the game!”
“Hey rodney! Send me sum steroids 2 the Bills facility next week!”
“Since I kno the media reads my tweets, will sum1 ask rodney how long the cycles take b4 I feel results of the steroids whn he sends em?”
“Lol! My bad Rodney! I hv been corrected by ur supporters, u used HGH nt steroids! So, every1 go ahead & use HGH!! Geez, I guess tht makes it better 2 use!!”

Al, put down the franchise before you hurt someone.

There is no denying the success Al Davis had with the Oakland Raiders, three Super Bowls and the highest winning percentage of any team in professional sports from 1963-2005 with a .602 winning percentage. However those days have long since passed and the Raiders have become one of the most dysfunctional teams in professional sports. From a plethora of wasted 1st round draft picks (2006 #7 Michael Huff, 2005 #23 Fabian Washington, 2004 #2 Robert Gallery, 2003 #32 Tyler Brayton, 2002 #17 Phillip Buchanon, 2002 #23 Napoleon Harris, 2001 #28 Derrick Gibson ), to head coach Tom Cable taking swings at his colleagues in the dressing room. The Raiders have had a losing record in each of the last six seasons, Al Davis making questionable decisions every step of the way.
In 2008 Davis traded the Raiders’ 1st round pick in that years draft and a 5th round pick in 2009 for cornerback Deangelo Hall. After signing Hall to a $70 million contract, Davis cut Hall after eight games. In the same off season the Raiders signed a player in Javon Walker coming off knee surgery, the third of his career, to a $55 million contract. Walker missed most of the 2008 season with, you guessed it, a knee injury. In 2007, Davis continued on his path of Destruction by trading future hall of famer Randy Moss to the juggernaut New England Patriots for a 4th round pick in one of the most lopsided trades in NFL history. In the latest baffling move by Al Davis, the Raiders traded their 1st round pick in 2011 to the same New England Patriots for veteran linebacker Richard Seymour. If we hadn’t already come to expect this kind of tomfoolery from the Raiders we might have suspected them of collusion. Someone needs to step in and take Al Davis away from the front desk.
Al, did you really believe your team was one aging linebacker in the last year of his contract away from being a winning team? The Raiders giving their 1st round pick to the Patriots is like Davis handing over his slingshot to Goliath. Al Davis was at one time a great barber. He owned his own shop and was greatly respected. Now his colleagues are watching as Davis is drawing blood from the head of the Raiders. Richard Seymour stood outside the shop for days for fear of being scalped himself before reluctantly entering. Someone needs to take the clippers out of Al Davis’ hands because I am sick of having to look at those bad haircuts.

Biggotry and MMA

Mixed martial arts is no stranger to criticism. The arguments that the sports is barbaric and that boxing is an all-around better spot have come consistently from the moment MMA hit the mainstream, usually from the mouths of geriatric personalities of the mainstream sports media and the boxing community. Tim Cowlishaw, a successful Dallas News sports columnist who frequently appears on EPSPN’s ‘Around the Horn’, recently stated his opinion on MMA, “One guy gets on top of the other, starts hitting him in the head a few times, and the bell rings. They could call their videos Rough Man Love Gone Wild, for all I can tell.”
Continuing the theme of old, white, bigotry from those who criticize MMA, boxing promoter Bob Arum had this to say, “The UFC are a bunch of skinhead white guys watching people in the ring who also look like skinhead white guys. 90% of the people in the audience wear tattoos. For me and people like me, it is not something they ever come to see. They watched it; it’s horrible, guys rolling around like homosexuals on the ground. I mean it’s not a sport that shows great, great talent.”
We get it guys, save us the “back in our day” nonsense. You grew up watching the greats: Foreman, Joe Louis, both “Sugar” Ray’s, and Ali. But boxing is dying a slow death. Young people today are growing up watching MMA and are more likely to take a jiu-jitsu class with dreams of fighting in the UFC rather than taking a boxing class. You feel threatened by MMA, I understand. You see the sport you love declining in popularity and you feel angry and need to take it out on something. But try to remember what people said about boxing before it was known as the “sweet science”. The unknowledgeable referred to boxing as barbaric, a couple animals swinging away at each other until one of them is beaten unconscious. Of course you knew they just didn’t understand the beautiful subtleties that made your sport so great.
Well you are now the misinformed ones. You see a couple guys rolling around on the ground; I see world-class jiu-jitsu and Olympic calibre wrestling. MMA is the combat sport of the next generation, and I know that thought terrifies you but like your favourite artist growing up said “The times they are a-changin”. So either get used to it, or just keep your homophobic, ill-informed, senile fear driven opinions to yourself.