And the Beat Goes On...

So I woke up today, and what did I end up reading? Another anti-Cleveland story, and this with LeBron James. Go figure. It is obvious that a lot of "journalists" do not like the fact that a 23-year old man, who did not go to college, ends up becoming a star in the NBA and gets paid millions of dollars through his performance on the court and through endorsements like Nike. Maybe it is a jealousy factor, and the fact that he acts a lot more mature for his age than most people do at 23. Or maybe it is because he is playing for a small-market like Cleveland and likes it there, rather than a big-market, like New York or Los Angeles. Whatever it is, it is getting a little ridiculous.

Case in point: Tom Knott (who usually whines more than he actually reports) says LeBron should be suspended for elbowing one of the Washington Wizards players in Game 1 of the Cavs-Wizards series. Now, the problem is that if you watched the game, you would realize that every time LeBron tried to get to the basket, the Wizards would try to foul him. And hard. There were even times the Wizards got away with a hold or a push on LeBron, and to me, it is quite clear that the Wizards (and Knott) would not have been bothered if LeBron was hurt at all by the Wizards. And with LeBron playing with a bad back, it is possible that the players could have, intentionally, hurt him even more.

So LeBron had to send a message. He elbowed Andray Blatche, and to me, there is nothing wrong with that. Or else Blatche would have, like the time before, taken cheap shots at LeBron. Apparently, Knott forgets that the Wizards started it with the dirty plays. What is LeBron supposed to do..take it? Why should he be the one to get suspended over the players who are, in my opinion, trying to take LeBron out of the game via injury?

And Knott's piece is not under "opinion" or "fiction" or anything to show the reader that what he is writing is his own opinion. It makes it look like he is a real journalist, when he is writing what he thinks. I think he needs to say before he starts writing the article that he is a Wizards fan, so that people understand he has a bias. If not, people will get confused and actually believe what he is writing is legit. It is not! If he actually watched the game, he would realize that LeBron was attempting to stop the Wizards from taking cheap shots at him. Blatche was never hurt, but it is quite possible that the Wizards aggravated LeBron's injury.

Knott has a history of writing stuff like this..it would be nice if the Washington Times would move him solely into the Op-Ed section, rather than keeping him in the Sports Section with all of the "real" journalists.

Time to Stop the LeBron to New York Talk NOW

It could be that I am a huge Cleveland sports' fan, so I may be just basing this on my opinion. But I do think that the mainstream media wants to see Cleveland sports fail. Maybe it is because the city has the best fans in the world (in my opinion), maybe they just do not like the Buckeye state, or it could be that the Cleveland curses continue (The Drive, The Fumble, The Shot, etc.). But you would think, that even if there is a bias against Cleveland sports, there may be some common sense. But no.

Take, for instance, the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Now, I love reading it, but sometimes I think they buy into the mainstream media's view that Cleveland Sports are bound to fail. I love Paul Hoynes, but he has bought into the believe that CC Sabathia will leave the Indians at the end of the year to play for the Yankees. Now, it seems they are buying into the whole LeBron James to New York theory..

Besides the question of whether the writers for the Plain Dealer buy into this nonsense, my question is: it is newsworthy? Surely they have something better to post than a website made for fans of the Knicks, not the Cavs. Instead of talking about the playoffs, they talk about a website that is trying to pry LeBron to the Knicks when his contract is up...

Ok, sorry to the delusional Knicks' fans, but it will not happen for several reasons:

1) LeBron is from Akron. He has said he loves the Cleveland area, and that is why he is building a huge mansion.

2) LeBron has stated his desire to bring a championship to Cleveland, and he knows that he could be Mayor of Cleveland or Governor of Ohio if he helped to build a Cavaliers' Dynasty. If he left for more money and fame, he risks losing his reputation, and no guarantee that he will succeed elsewhere.

3) The Knicks are terrible, they have been for several years. They are over the salary cap, and already have to pay a luxury tax. What makes people think they will be able to afford LeBron down the line? Even if there are expiring contracts in the future, the team most likely (based on past and present tendencies) to overpay for over the hill players. Why would LeBron want to go into a no-win situation like that? I'm sorry, but he has a better chance to win a championship with the Cavs than he does making the playoffs with the Knicks.

I will post more on this..if you read Brian Windhorst's blog (on the side) or read his columns, you will realize that he is pretty good at what he does, and he has talked before about how journalists (or pseudo journalists) do not really understand the salary cap in the NBA, nor do they really understand LeBron, his desire to win in Cleveland, or his contract..I'll talk more about Windhorst in another blog.

Here is a question again..should the Plain Dealer cover a website that is made for Knicks' fans, and clearly will only make Cleveland sports' fans more upset about its history?

A Quick Sidenote

Ok, usually I post something about sports, mainly because that is what I wanted to focus this blog on, since I follow it really closely. But I do follow politics and the news daily too. Don't get me wrong, I follow politics a lot closer than the average American does (I believe), but I just wanted to bring something different, something that is happening in the sports world. When it comes to Journalism and ethics, most people think about it in terms of news and the political world. But there are also problems with Journalism and ethics when it comes to sports, so I hope to highlight sports more, since it may not be covered as much.

But I WILL cover politics and the news too, especially with the election season. When I find something really interesting to talk about, I'll shift gears...

Jose Canseco, A-Rod, and Steroids

So Jose Canseco is at it again. As many people know, Canseco is the former baseball player who has admitted to using steroids, and had written a book with a list of names who were involved in using performance enhancing drugs. Now, Canseco is alleging that Alex Rodriguez used steroids, who happens to be one of, if not baseball's best player, one who many say he will pass Barry Bonds on the All-Time Home Runs list. It is hard for me to think A-Rod is using steroids, because he physical appearance has not changed dramatically like a lot of players. Also, A-Rod has yet to be implicated in using steroids, even after months and months of investigation by George Mitchell.

Is Canseco looking to make some money? I think so, it seems like he is trying to make a name. Since his name is tarnished forever when it comes to playing the game, why not tarnish the name of hundreds of other players for millions of dollars? It is quite possible the A-Rod used steroids, but I think it would come as a surprise to most if it is true. It makes it even harder to believe Canseco, who many remember as one of the "bash brothers" with steroid-user Mark McGwire in the 1990s with the Oakland Athletics, when he claims that A-Rod was hitting on Canseco's wife. Is it possible? Yes. But why now? Why does it wait several years later (A-Rod has been married for several years) to reveal this in a tell-all book?

The problem I see is the media coverage of it. They have been talking about it on TV, and I first heard about this new book on ESPN's Cold Pizza. But should the media be covering Canseco without talking to A-Rod? All I hear is Canseco's side of the story, who is guilty of using steroids, and not A-Rod's side, who is innocent until proven guilty. I understand it makes for good TV Drama, but should the networks be running his side of the story without trying to interview Rodriguez? Or if they interview Canseco, should they be throwing soft ball questions to him instead of playing Hardball like Chris Matthews? It would make him really think hard before he answers, but right now, Canseco is ahead in the media's eyes over A-Rod.

The Transcript

Ok, so I had written an article a while back for The Transcript on Fody Frentsos, and as many of you know, there was additional information to the article added, with a quote from someone I did not interview, to the article. I had emailed the sports editor about it, and here is what I wrote. Now, I do not have the email that he sent me back, because, unfortunately, I deleted it. However, he did tell me that they needed to fill extra space on the page, and in order to fill it, he needed to add another quote or two. He told me that he will let me know in the future if they choose to add something, and so far, there has not been a problem. I really appreciated that, and I am glad that this issue seems to have been resolved. I did not think there was too much to this story, but I emailed him just for some clarification.

Hey Alex,

This is Clay Davis. I want to, first of all, thank you for
putting the article in The Transcript. I know Fody contacted me
to say thanks. I think the quotes by Mike were good too.
However, I did realize notice this addition a couple of days
ago which is fine. I realize it added more to the article. But
I did not know of the change until it was printed. I was hoping
that if a change like that happens, you could contact me ahead
of time to let me know.

Again, I thought it was a nice add, but I did not know that was
added until after it was published.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Thanks!

Clay

Brett Favre to Retire?

Ok, so Brett Favre was set to retire today, atleast that is what Green Bay's official website had said (Packers.com). However, they recently took that off the website, and now team officials, according to profootballtalk.com, are denying that he will retire. Now, personally, I think Brett Favre is a great quarterback, a hall of fame quarterback, but maybe it is time for him to retire. I am tired about hearing his name every off-season (like Roger Clemens) and about whether he will come back or not.

The ethical problem here is whether the Green Bay Packers should have posted the story on their official website or whether they should issue an official denial if it is not true. And if some "hacker" got into it and posted it, then they need to come forward and say that. Otherwise, NFL fans like myself are going to wonder whether the story really is true and the team is unwilling to come forward with the truth.


Thanks to Profootalltalk.com for providing the website image (that lasted online for only a shortwhile)!

Wow, Skip Bayless, you've done it again!!

So for some reason today I was watching Cold Pizza on ESPN (basically just a bunch of guys with inflated egos talking), and I heard Skip Bayless make another brilliant comment!

He was talking about Dallas Mavericks Point Guard Jason Kidd, whom the team recently acquired from the New Jersey Nets. Bayless was talking about his performance in a game last night, and he said Kidd had an "A" performance in the first half, but a "D" performance in the second half. Ok, so all is fine, right? Nope. Then, according to Bayless, the "A" and "D" performances equals a "C-" average. What?!?! I thought he might of been kidding, but he wasn't. Now, I'm no math wiz, but I'm pretty sure an A and D average does not equal a C- average, considering that in the NBA, time is the same for all quarters and half, so one half will not be "worth more" than another. It would be like two 100 point tests, and you get an A on the first, but a D on the second, but your teacher says that he will take the average of those two tests for the final grade, and he comes up with a C-. I'm pretty sure you'd be upset...

This was nothing too important, just once again why ESPN needs to stop trying to hire for entertainment by bringing the Skip Baylesses of the world and hire people who understand sports. Anyone that has followed Skip Bayless knows that he pretty much hates all Ohio teams unless they are doing really well, then he may hop on the bandwagon. For example, Skip said last year that LeBron James was "overrated." Of course, soon after he said that, LeBron scored 48 points in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, which includes being responsible for 28 of the last 30 points scored by the Cavs. They were down 2-0 in the series before winning 4 straight to move onto the NBA Finals.. This year, Skip, finally seeing the light, is now praising LeBron. It's probably because he is finally understanding how ridiculous he sounds and that he is not really a journalist..

If you've heard anything about Skip Bayless, and would like to comment, please do!

More on the Brady Quinn Story...

Apparently, Brady Quinn's girlfriend was with him during the alleged incident, according to the AP story that was put on Cleveland.com (see "The Denial" Link Below).

"In a statement released Wednesday through the Browns, Quinn said he had dinner on New Year's Eve with his girlfriend and other couples but that nothing else happened."

If that's true, don't the writers at the Plain Dealer have an obligation to inform the readers about who was with him? Really, would Brady Quinn had shouted the "f" word at gays in downtown Columbus if his girlfriend was with him? I think, more likely than not, he would not have. In my honest opinion, I think guys will tend to act a lot better if their girlfriend was with them. Again, not saying that the allegations are not true, but I am more skeptical today than yesterday. Does The Plain Dealer have an agenda for leaving out this bit of information in its original story? Probably not, but one has to wonder why that little detail was not published. After all, this incident happened over a month ago. Clearly, the Aaron Marshall (PD Reporter) had the time to get all of his facts straight. We will see what happens from here.

Is Brady Quinn really a "Golden Boy" ?

Ok, so if you know me, you know I am a huge Cleveland Browns fan..I have been a huge Browns' fan my entire life. I also went to the same high school as Brady Quinn (Dublin Coffman), graduated two years after him, and the same year as one of his sisters. So maybe I will not be completely objective in my analysis of this new story that has come up on Cleveland.com (The Plain Dealer).

Apparently, Brady, along with some of his friends, were driving in downtown Columbus on January 1st (with Quinn apparently under the influence of alcohol), and were around a gay bar, where they were shouting some pretty awful things apparently to those who were just outside of it. Now, the person who made the allegation, Seth Harris, called 9-1-1 and said that Brady and his friends were looking for a fight. If that's true, then of course it was perfectly fine to have some outside help (as in cops) to stop the situation. My problem is that Harris may be looking for his 15 minutes of fame, if Quinn and Co. were not aggressive.Why call the cops if they were only yelling stuff at him? As a runner, I hear some pretty awful things said at me, but I will not call the cops. And Harris apparently could recognize Brady Quinn in his car, which leads one to wonder if this is a case of trying to get attention on a star athlete, thereby forcing him to settle a dispute (as in a cash settlement) so it doesn't hurt Quinn's career.

I believe innocent until proven guilty, so I want to give Quinn the benefit of the doubt, but it is still very possible that Harris is telling the truth..only time will tell.

Quinn released a statement, saying that the allegations were not true.

Here's a question I have for the Plain Dealer: Why wait over a month after the incident happened to finally report it? The question is..should the paper have come forward earlier, if they knew about this? To me, the timing seems a little weird. And the fact that the Columbus Dispatch never reported this story leads me to wonder if there is more behind the Journalist's pen that meets the eye...


The Denial:
http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/2008/02/browns_quinn_denies_altercatio.html


The Story that first broke earlier today:
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/02/brady_quinn_part_of_rowdy_grou.html

There is audio in the second link, if you want to listen to the 9-1-1 call...