Media's Crown Jewell

It happens all the time. Something newsworthy happens. The media blows it up. The public gravitates towards it and the sensational coverage spirals to disproportionate measures.

Although it wasn't a major national story, Richard Jewell, of the Atlanta Olympics infamy and heroism, died today in Georgia.

With his death, the story of a man who's heroism was falsely identified as terrorism and the eventual media blitz on his name brings to mind just how easily the media (and the public who feeds their reporting tendencies) ruined a man's good name and eventually his life and legacy.

The stories like this are rampant. The media will latch onto a story like the OJ Simpson case or the Vick case and just feed the beast that is the American (and World) viewing public.

Sure, many of these cases are severe and deserve the attention, but when Paris Hilton's saga after saga gets more coverage than the American soldiers giving their lives overseas or other more important issues, it proves that we, as a country, are very childish in our consumption of news and "news".

It's a sad time when faux-celebrity or over-inflated stories captivate us, while more important, crisis-like issues routinely go unnoticed, or at the least, under reported.

Jewell's death brings a haunting reminder that unless the public turns it off, the media will continue to glamorize the "Hollywood" story and sensationalize any news item to keep your eyes peeled.

Our viewing decisions fuel the machine that is tabloid journalism.

Choose wisely. Someone's life and legacy could be at stake.

Plagiarific!

Somewhere in Idaho, Boise State Head Coach Chris Peterson must be laughing hysterically.

For those of you who missed it, the Miami Dolphins and their offensive "genius" of a coach, Cam Cameron, decided to use the same "Statue of Liberty" play that the Broncos used in last year's unbelievable Fiesta Bowl, when they outlasted Oklahoma for a win and an unbeaten season.

So did Cameron wait for an important regular season game against a rival? Maybe an intense playoff match-up to show off this trickeration at a very critical juncture in a season?

Nope.

Cameron had the cojones to pull it of in a freakin pre-season game. In the first quarter.

So much for saving your playbook for the regular season like you've said all along, Camarones.

As classic as that ballsy playcalling was last January, this latest Miami Dolphin blunder just continues the series of comedic errors in judgment and game management in the footsteps of Wannstache and O'Sabin Bin Lyin.

Get on the wagon...

You have to love this time of year. Baseball is finally starting to mean something, even if its one of the most boring sports out there. Sorry, but Barry Bonds' home run chase didn't captivate nearly as much as a feat like that should have, regardless of the issues surrounding his Royal 'Roidness. Soccer fans can relish the recent flurry of great MLS matches and the start of the European leagues which are always entertaining. College and professional football are wrapping up the preseason and getting ready for the real stuff. And of course, the new national past-time of fantasy football has many a fantasy owner gearing up for their most special time of the year, the fantasy football draft.

It is without question the best time of year to be a sports fan.

Unless of course, you live in the South Florida area where the pathetic bandwagoners and constant whining from "sports fans" do a great job of ruining the best time of year.

South Florida teams have been lucky in relatively short existences as sport franchises to be very successful. The Dolphins can lay claim to the only undefeated season an NFL team has ever seen. The Canes have 5 football national championships to showoff to all their "rabid" fans. The Marlins have 2 World Series titles in less than 20 years -- or more than what the Red Sox, Cubs, and Mets can say combined in that span. Since hockey really doesn't count, we'll leave the Panthers alone, but they did have a nice run with the Beezer in the mid-90's as well.

So, how does the South Florida sports fan base reward these organizations? Lets take a look:

Miami Heat
Before Shaq and D-Wade, did this franchise even exist? Sure Hardaway and 'Zo were around, but even in the heat (pun intended) of the rivalry with the Knicks, fans didn't really take to the NBA in South Florida on a regular basis.

Fast forward to Shaq, D-Wade, and an NBA championship and suddenly the streets of Miami are teeming with Heat die-hards. The passion was there...it was White Hot!

Time came for a run at a repeat...but the fans were nowhere to be found. Shaq was taking his normal regular season break, D-Wade was hurt on and off, and the supporting cast was lead by Jason Kapono...yes, the UCLA sharpshooter himself.

So, maybe it wasn't the best basketball to watch, but your team was the DEFENDING CHAMPIONS...SHOW UP! The sea of empty seats game after game showed most South Florida sports fans true colors.

Florida Marlins
This team's fan base is by far the most pathetic. With all the success the Marlins have had, it's an absolute joke that they can barely average 10,000 fans a game. Ok, maybe its a bit more, but still, it is poor at best. The excuses given for non-attendance are laughable. "It's not a stadium made for baseball." Weak. "The traffic is atrocious." Weaker. "I don't want to make the trip because there is always a chance or rain." Weakest.

Sure the two fire sales after World Series titles were probably not easy to swallow, but the team has proven time and again that it can and will rebuild into a winner. The fact that they want to build a new stadium for this team would be the biggest waste of private and/or taxpayer dollars.

Miami Dolphins
Aside from Dan Marino and the '72 undefeated team, these fans probably have the biggest gripe overall. The team has had a playoff drought that ranks among the worst in the NFL including the Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals, and Buffalo Bills. Of the local sports teams (college and pro), they are probably the least fair-weathered, but they have definitely been showing signs of late. Poor choices at head coach (Nick Saban is known by many a local 790 the Ticket sports radio listener as Osabin Bin Lyin) and some questionable drafts of late don't help either.

University of Miami Hurricanes
I'll preface this next one by saying that I firmly support the Florida State Seminoles, an obvious arch rival. However, that in no way will taint the argument against this band of front-running "fanatics."

Temple comes to town...10,000 fans. UNC comes to town...29,000. Virginia Tech...49,000. The capacity at the Orange Bowl is 72,000+. Your main rival, aside from Florida State, comes to town and the stadium is 32% empty. Deplorable. Woeful. Just poor.

South Florida may be a hotbed for the athletic talent on the field, but that talent is not supported on a consistent basis. Forget consistent, that talent is not even supported on a marginal basis.

So with the recent announcement that the Canes would be moving to Dolphins Stadium starting next year, the "fanbase" was outraged. Upon hearing of the possible move, they staged a protest on a sunny weekend at the OB. The turnout was tremendous...a whole 75 people! What passion!

It's been funny to hear the complaints from these "diehard" Canes supporters.

"I won't drive to Dolphins Stadium, it's takes to long from my home." - Understood, I'm sure the people in LA, NY, and Boston have a rough time too.

"We won't have a home field advantage there." - Hate to break it to you, but when you don't show up, that is generally what happens.

"I'll miss the atmosphere from the OB." -Yes, it is tough to not have to deal with leaky urinals, horrible parking, and abysmal stadium management from a usually corrupt City of Miami.

Alright, it's not just me people. Dan LeBatard, he of Miami Herald, ESPN the Magazine, and substitute PTI fame, had this to say. It's pretty obvious that the UM braintrust made a business decision. Maybe if the fans showed up in force for every home game and not the 1 or 2 big ones per year, the OB situation could've came out differently. But even if it didn't, you turn your back on your team because it's going to play at a different stadium a little further north? Nice support, diehard.

So in all, what a great time of year. That is, unless you live in the front-running, bandwagoning capitol of this sports crazed country, M-I-A-M-I!

That's right....LA has been passed, sports fans. We have a new king!

Beckman!

David Beckman...USA Soccer Savior? Yes, you read that correctly, Beckman, not Beckham...if you don't believe me, ask Shogun's Uncle.

Anyway, why do people insist on asking this question?

Sure, Beckman is a superstar, both on and off the field. But why does he need to "save" US Soccer?

There is a reason he is here, but its not to save US Soccer. It's to play the beautiful game. It's to promote the beautiful game in this country. It's to help elevate its status as a growing and legitimate sport. And of course, its to allow Mrs. Beckman to elevate her "major" status.

With Beckman, we have seen increased attendance at all LA Galaxy away games, better television ratings for games, and a huge increase in jersey sales and sponsorship money. Beckman deserves all the credit in the world for all of that and soccer fans throughout this country hope that the hype will continue for years to come.

However, the hype will eventually fade.

News flash: US Soccer is alive and well without Beckman.

Of course, he is more than doing his part in the last month or so to help it further along, but Major League Soccer and US Soccer was growing before he signed with the Galaxy.

For the first time ever, ESPN Classic will replay an instant classic MLS game this week between the New York Red Bulls vs. LA Galaxy game. The game was one of the best MLS regular season matches ever and it was seen by 66,000+ at Giants Stadium.

Sure the game involved Beckman which helped make it an instant classic, but a young 17-year-old named Josmer "Jozy" Altidore proved to be a huge star in the making. In the near future, he will most likely acquire the largest US transfer fee for a soccer player going to Europe ever. How many times have you seen a young MLS Soccer player be the front page story on Yahoo.com? Once...Jozy Altidore last night!

Other recent MLS and US Soccer success stories include the great recent showing from the U-20 US Soccer team in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, Freddy Adu being signed by Benfica, a prominent club from Portugal, and Tim Howard continuing to progress as a top keeper in the world while plying his trade in the English Premier League.

The naysayers will ask, if MLS as a league is getting better, why are all these players leaving? MLS and US Soccer has proven that it can develop these players to advance to bigger and better leagues. Examples include Brian McBride, Kasey Keller, Brad Friedel, Clint Dempsey, DaMarcus Beasley, and Claudio Reyna.

However, leagues like the EPL have been around for a 100 years. MLS has been around for 12! There is no comparison, but give the league some time to develop and it may prove itself to be equal or better than some of the better leagues in the world. Decades from now, these local products will stay for their careers like they do in Spain, Italy, and England.

MLS is developing youth soccer development programs in most teams regions. MLS teams are building their own stadiums where new revenue streams can be realized. They are slowly starting to bring in world class talent (in addition to Beckman, Juan Pablo Angel, Guillermo Barros Schellotto, Youri Djorkaeff, and Cuatehomoc Blanco have all shined recently for MLS teams). Individual ownership groups and new communities throughout the USA are quickly realizing that the league is growing and want to come aboard as expansion markets. US Soccer is scheduling friendlies against world powers like Brazil and Sweden.

Sure, MLS and US Soccer have many areas they need to fix and get better, but the positives are there and the future is bright.

Thanks, Beckman. Thanks for the increased coverage across all media platforms. Thanks for the increased interest from marginal fans and non-traditional fans. Thanks for displaying the ability you have and the determination you show in trying to grow this sport. Thank you for showing early on that you are worth every penny that your contract will eventually add up to. And of course, thanks for showing off your trophy wife in all her "major"-ness.

However, it's not a 1 man job or a 5 year effort. MLS has positioned itself well by growing incrementally and slowly at a grassroots level. It has not overspent early and often like the NASL of the past.

So don't worry about saving the league Becks, it'll be fine long after your 5-year multi-million dollar contract expires.

But thanks for the help along the way...

Vick Venom

I've been meaning to do this for quite a while, but with the news of Michael Vick pleading guilty to the unbelievably graphic and horrific charges against him regarding dogfighting, I figured it was finally time to get my personal blog going.

When first seeing Michael Vick on the football field at the 2000 Sugar Bowl against the Seminoles in New Orleans, it was fascinating just how athletic, fast, and overly talented this guy was. He literally ran circles around the FSU national championship defense, and despite coming up a bit short in one of the higher scoring BCS championship games ever, he ran the one-man show for the Hokies like a man among middle school kids (think Rob Schneider in Benchwarmers x 100). Although Peter Warrick might have stole some of his thunder in that game, Vick surely proved he was on another level than most other supreme athletes.

Forge ahead a few years later to see Vick leading the Atlanta Falcons to a playoff victory at Lambeau Field against the future Hall-of-Famer Brett Favre and it seemed pretty obvious that Vick was the future. Lightning speed, rocket arm, sick cuts and moves that reminded you of the great Barry Sanders...this kid was the future.

There is one huge catch, though....Talent can only take you so far. Although physical talent generally wins out over mental abilities or off-the-field incidents in professional sports, sometimes even your phenomenal athletic abilities come crashing to a halt with the wrong decisions.

Although this will be a blog mostly about sports, this sad story about Vick and his transgressions is more about life than sports.

Vick had it all. He had the 10-year, multi-million contract with the Falcons. A great endorsement deal with Nike. An owner who basically put the well-being and success of the organization in his QB's hands (and feet). And to top all of that, he was a black sports hero in a city well-known for its diverse community and support of African American celebrities.

Vick could do no wrong, right? Wrong!

Like the Powerball lottery winner that throws all of his millions of dollars down the drain in a matter of months on drugs, frivolous purchasing habits, and other money mismanagement, Vick has thrown it all away quicker than one of his trademark cut-back runs for a touchdown.

Dogfighting? Was it really all worth it Mike?

Sure, athletes have tons of free time in the off-season and plenty of money to use it as they please, but is the vicious brutality of innocent dogs to pass your time worth squandering your legacy, your career, and your dignity, Mike? How about millions upon millions of dollars thrown away?

For Mike Vick, apparently it was.

We are all judged by our decision-making, whether it be in the workplace, dealing with a friend, or in a athletic environment.

Remember how Vick was so supremely gifted on the field making the other players look like prepubescent middle school kids? Now, his off the field actions will forever remind our society and sports fans nationwide how his mental decision-making capabilities were less than that of a 10-year-old.

Suddenly, I don't feel as bad for those athletically inept Seminole defenders who looked so silly on that field at the Superdome.