After some travel time, I've returned to rumble randomly. The travel was to my alma mater, Syracuse University, for the chance to work with the next generation of media superstars. Joe Lee, GM of WAER, invited me to work with his sports talk department and it turned into an incredible 48 hours on the hill.
It's hard to accurately describe what the student media, both WAER and Z89, mean to and have meant to my career. The shortest version of an attempt is merely saying that I would've gotten nowhere without them. The reason those places are so special is because the alums are so generous in giving back. Not only have some of the best and brightest in our industry established and passed down a standard of excellence when they were students, but they've also made sure to continue to go back and ensure that standard is upheld.
The fact that Joe reached out and specifically targeted me to come back and work with his staff is an honor. I was more than happy to make the trip. What I found, not shockingly, is an incredibly talented and driven group that craved the feedback and want to get better and continue the tradition. There's a reason there are so many Syracuse alums in this industry and there's a reason we're obnoxious about where we went to school. It's worth being proud of and it was abundantly clear to me after last week that the next generation understands that and will continue to live up to the expectations of being "one of those Syracuse guys" (or gals!) in every corner of media.
Kobe
I left for Syracuse at 6 am on Thursday morning, making it an unwise decision to stay up and watch Kobe's final game Wednesday night. So I didn't. I watched the first six minutes, in which he didn't hit a shot, and went to bed knowing it was on DVR for me to consume later.
I woke up Thursday morning bleary eyed and looked at my phone AND KOBE DID WHAT?! No amount of coffee or IV dripped caffeine could've had me come to attention faster than seeing that Bryant scored 60 on his final night. I immediately went to the box score and saw he shot fifty times, but he still scored sixty points!!! However as I started to read some of the reaction from Twitter the night before, then listen as I hit the road, I understood that this wasn't some chuck-fest. This was an all-time moment.
I finally got to watch this morning and it was pure magic. Were there some bad shots? Sure. He shot fifty times. You think they were all awesome? However there were also glimpses of a Bryant we all, including Kobe himself, thought was long gone. Snakes to the rim, ending in crafty finishes accounted for a solid percentage of his points. The pull-up jumper that made him the NBA's best player for a solid stretch of the early 00's looked as sure as it ever had. I'd use another word, but magic is the proper description.
For a player whose reputation as a closer was typically overstated (his percentages in clutch situation were terrible), this close was literally perfect. While he often forced shots and missed, there was no denying that Bryant always wanted to take the final shot. He thought it was his duty, and he had no fear of failure. That's admirable for an athlete, even if at times he should've played the percentages better. Wednesday night wasn't a time to play the percentages. Wednesday night was time to put on a show. He did, in the most unimaginable way possible.
He's inarguably one of the best fifteen players ever. He's almost inarguably one of the best twelve. He's arguably one of the best ten. He's done things few others have done in the modern era and some (his 81 point game) that none have done. From a pure sporting context, it doesn't get much better than his performance on Wednesday. Also, Mike Tirico said "fo shizzle" late in the game going to break as the telecast showed Snoop dancing which is as all-time of a moment as anything Kobe did.
However in an age where we know more about our athletes than ever before, I'd feel like a total hypocrite if I didn't at least mention that Bryant was charged with rape in 2004. It was largely not mentioned during the Kobe farewell tour until the final few days as I saw it appear a few times on social media. I was pretty young during the trial, so I went back and looked at some of the reporting from the time and it's certainly damning of Bryant. At absolute best, Bryant committed rape amidst confusion about consent. This is directly from Bryant's statement after the charges were dismissed:
"Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter."
It takes two to have consent. The woman not believing she had consented constitutes rape, even if Bryant was under some other impression. Other accounts paint a much darker picture in which there's no confusion at all, and that there may have been other similar instances with other women that went unreported. We have a legal system that often fails victims of domestic and sexual violence. There are no winners in any of this. The charges against Bryant were dropped after his legal team engaged in horrifying victim blaming.
There's no good way to make all this into some grand conclusion. It feels like there's grey area here. Bryant rehabbed his image in part by doing an extremely high amount of charity work. He saw hundreds of Make-a-Wish kids, never denying one of their requests. His work with the homeless of LA is awe-inspiring. Does any of that make what he was alleged to do okay? Of course not. I don't know what the "right" response to all of this is. Watching his final game gave me great joy as a sports fan. Writing the last two paragraphs about a horrifying thing he is alleged to have done makes me feel really guilty about that joy. That's really all I've got.
Trade That Pick!
Making as hard of a left turn as we can, the Browns should trade the number two overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft and they shouldn't think twice about it. It's pretty clear the Rams are taking one of the top two quarterbacks in the draft, either Jared Goff or Carson Wentz at number one after trading with the Titans last week. That leaves any other team who wants one of those quarterbacks needing to trade with Cleveland to ensure they get their man.
The Browns don't need either if they're committed to Robert Griffin III at quarterback. Even if they're not, they should trade the pick anyway unless they believe one of them is truly special. The reality is the Browns stink. They're not winning this year with anyone they can possibly acquire at quarterback. They need a lot of players. The only way to get a lot of good players is to draft a lot of players. The way to draft a lot of players is to have a lot of picks, which you can acquire in a trade for the number two overall pick pretty easily.
NFL Draft picks, no matter where they are, are like lottery tickets. The higher the draft pick, the better chance that ticket is a winner, but the real goal is to get as many tickets as you can. If you go 50% on your picks, but only have six picks, you've only developed three players. If you have 12 picks? Now you've got six NFL caliber players and are making headway towards becoming good again.
Since multiple teams are likely to want in on whichever QB is left (multiple reports say it will be Wentz stating that the Rams like Goff), the Browns can probably get a great return for their pick. Making a deal is all about leverage. The Browns have it. They should use it, and then be patient as their stable of players develops and maybe, just maybe, they'll have a winner in Cleveland a few years down the road.
Reads of the day:
This Seth Wickersham piece for ESPN The Mag on Robert Nkemdiche is great. It shines a light on one of the draft's bigger question marks and how questionable the draft process is: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/15159447/should-teams-worry-robert-nkemdic-nfl-future
NBA Player Wayne Ellington writes about his father's impact on his life and his cold-blooded murder for The Player's Tribune: http://www.theplayerstribune.com/wayne-ellington-nets-father/
If you want some great Kobe stories, Baxter Holmes has written some remarkable stuff for ESPN LA the past few weeks. This, on his shooting routine, is one of my favorites: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/15179469/kobe-bryant-famous-pregame-shooting-routine
Showing posts with label z89. Show all posts
Showing posts with label z89. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
The End of Funemployment
All good things must come to an end, especially when it's your unemployment status. As stupid as that may sound, the last 3 months were a tremendous learning experience and allowed me to do some things that I'll likely never be able to do again in my life. I'll touch on more of those in a second, but in the interest of not burying the lead, the good news:
I've accepted a part-time with ESPN 103.3 FM in Dallas. I will be doing everything from hosting on nights and weekends to local Sportscenter updates during our local and network programming to original podcasts for ESPNDallas.com to some off-air work. It's an absolutely amazing opportunity with my dream company. Everybody knows the affinity I have for ESPN as a company thanks to the number of people who have helped me over the years and my experience there as an intern. This is one of the four owned and operated affiliates meaning I'm actually working for ESPN. Seriously, Mickey Mouse is on my paycheck.
When I went back to Newhouse in February, I talked to a number of classes about networking. This job is a direct result of the networking excursion I took in January. While in Bristol I met with a man named Rob Savinelli from the talent office who suggested I meet with Tim McCarthy in New York. Tim suggested I reach out to Tom Lee, the program director in Dallas. Tom and I talked and while he had nothing at the time, he certainly helped me look elsewhere and gave me feedback. He then had something open up. We talked. He's now my boss.
What you're probably wondering is "wait...you did all that without a Syracuse connection?! I didn't think that was possible because a) it's you and b) you went through 3+ people in the media industry and that's not mathematically possible." The person who introduced me to Rob? His boss. Laurie Orlando, SU alumnus. Go Orange.
To my younger friends who may be reading this: network and do it when they don't need you and when you don't need them. It didn't matter if I was happily employed, Tom is someone I would've wanted to talk to. I did need him and even though he didn't have anything, he was willing to talk. A few weeks later, circumstances changed and here we are. I couldn't be more excited to work for Tom because I know he wants to see me get better. He and his team are going to coach me which is something I've wanted at this level on a day-to-day basis since I graduated. This excites me far more than being on the air in a top 5 market.
This 3 month period taught me a lot and allowed me to do a lot. I learned a lot about financial responsibility and planning. When "do I have enough for rent?" is a real question, you don't have much of a choice. Luckily the answer was always yes. I got to travel and spend time with people in a fashion that I never would be able to if I was in school or employed. I got 3 weeks in New York. I got 2 weeks in Syracuse. Those trips were amazing and I'm so glad I got to take them.
I got to work on stories and write in a way that I wanted to. There are no editors (except that time Professor Nicholson called me and reminded me I can't spell) and there are no rules. It's how I want to express my opinions and my take. It's seeing a story like who the hell is this Marshall Henderson dude and going with it because I can. It's a journalistic innocence that can't be found anywhere else. I wasn't being graded. I wasn't being dictated to or constrained. It was just fun.
What I'll remember most about this period in my life though is not something I learned or somewhere I got to go. It's something I was reminded of and that's just how good people are. It's not hard to find the worst of society. Go to any website and scroll through the comments section. Go on Twitter. Go to a Rutgers basketball practice.
Throughout the past three months though, I've seen the best in people. It started immediately with so many members of my actual family, my JPZ/AER/SU family and other people I've met along the way reaching out with support. It was Matt Llewelyn reaching out and saying if I needed anything from a meal to a job, he was here for me. I told him I'd meet him for lunch and I've spent the past 3 months working for him which is how the answer to "do I have enough for rent?" was always yes. I also have a totally new appreciation for the the restaurant industry, something every human being who's ever eaten in one should have.
It was my friends in Syracuse who put me up during my stay or perhaps more accurately in some cases (hi Corey, who's office was my suitcase storage facility) put up with me. Oh and yes Fitz, you can have special recognition because you stepped up big time and lord knows you love the attention.
Saving the best for last I cannot thank my family enough. My parents who were there for me on the worst days, never lost faith and always gave me what I needed, whether that be support or a reality check (i.e. I'm going apartment hunting this weekend and not to the Final Four...thanks Mom...kinda). My grandparents who put me up in New York for nearly a month and would have let me stay longer if my parents didn't make me come home. My aunts, uncle and cousins who would check in and see how things were doing and if I needed anything. You guys are awesome. I don't know how you go about classifying "the best family in the world" but I know I wouldn't trade you for anyone else.
Last but not least, I want to thank you. I have no idea who "you" are but you've found your way here. I launched this site to initially announce my unemployment which was on December 7th. It's now April 4th and nearly 7500 people have read and listened to what I've had to say. I remember the first post I did and seeing the hit count start to climb and going "woah, I have an audience." In my industry, having that audience is everything. It was that tiny bit of affirmation that despite my employment status, I was doing something right.
This site will obviously be scaled back now that I'll have real work to do. There will be at least one more podcast that I'm hoping to do tonight. There will be blogs this weekend on the Final Four and thanks to Heather Prusak they'll be supplemented with the great work by CitrusTV, who is in Atlanta. Past that, this will be an outlet for me to talk about things outside of Dallas and maybe a few in. So until next time, thanks for reading, thanks for supporting me and I can't wait to get started on what's next.
Craig
I've accepted a part-time with ESPN 103.3 FM in Dallas. I will be doing everything from hosting on nights and weekends to local Sportscenter updates during our local and network programming to original podcasts for ESPNDallas.com to some off-air work. It's an absolutely amazing opportunity with my dream company. Everybody knows the affinity I have for ESPN as a company thanks to the number of people who have helped me over the years and my experience there as an intern. This is one of the four owned and operated affiliates meaning I'm actually working for ESPN. Seriously, Mickey Mouse is on my paycheck.
When I went back to Newhouse in February, I talked to a number of classes about networking. This job is a direct result of the networking excursion I took in January. While in Bristol I met with a man named Rob Savinelli from the talent office who suggested I meet with Tim McCarthy in New York. Tim suggested I reach out to Tom Lee, the program director in Dallas. Tom and I talked and while he had nothing at the time, he certainly helped me look elsewhere and gave me feedback. He then had something open up. We talked. He's now my boss.
What you're probably wondering is "wait...you did all that without a Syracuse connection?! I didn't think that was possible because a) it's you and b) you went through 3+ people in the media industry and that's not mathematically possible." The person who introduced me to Rob? His boss. Laurie Orlando, SU alumnus. Go Orange.
To my younger friends who may be reading this: network and do it when they don't need you and when you don't need them. It didn't matter if I was happily employed, Tom is someone I would've wanted to talk to. I did need him and even though he didn't have anything, he was willing to talk. A few weeks later, circumstances changed and here we are. I couldn't be more excited to work for Tom because I know he wants to see me get better. He and his team are going to coach me which is something I've wanted at this level on a day-to-day basis since I graduated. This excites me far more than being on the air in a top 5 market.
This 3 month period taught me a lot and allowed me to do a lot. I learned a lot about financial responsibility and planning. When "do I have enough for rent?" is a real question, you don't have much of a choice. Luckily the answer was always yes. I got to travel and spend time with people in a fashion that I never would be able to if I was in school or employed. I got 3 weeks in New York. I got 2 weeks in Syracuse. Those trips were amazing and I'm so glad I got to take them.
I got to work on stories and write in a way that I wanted to. There are no editors (except that time Professor Nicholson called me and reminded me I can't spell) and there are no rules. It's how I want to express my opinions and my take. It's seeing a story like who the hell is this Marshall Henderson dude and going with it because I can. It's a journalistic innocence that can't be found anywhere else. I wasn't being graded. I wasn't being dictated to or constrained. It was just fun.
What I'll remember most about this period in my life though is not something I learned or somewhere I got to go. It's something I was reminded of and that's just how good people are. It's not hard to find the worst of society. Go to any website and scroll through the comments section. Go on Twitter. Go to a Rutgers basketball practice.
Throughout the past three months though, I've seen the best in people. It started immediately with so many members of my actual family, my JPZ/AER/SU family and other people I've met along the way reaching out with support. It was Matt Llewelyn reaching out and saying if I needed anything from a meal to a job, he was here for me. I told him I'd meet him for lunch and I've spent the past 3 months working for him which is how the answer to "do I have enough for rent?" was always yes. I also have a totally new appreciation for the the restaurant industry, something every human being who's ever eaten in one should have.
It was my friends in Syracuse who put me up during my stay or perhaps more accurately in some cases (hi Corey, who's office was my suitcase storage facility) put up with me. Oh and yes Fitz, you can have special recognition because you stepped up big time and lord knows you love the attention.
Saving the best for last I cannot thank my family enough. My parents who were there for me on the worst days, never lost faith and always gave me what I needed, whether that be support or a reality check (i.e. I'm going apartment hunting this weekend and not to the Final Four...thanks Mom...kinda). My grandparents who put me up in New York for nearly a month and would have let me stay longer if my parents didn't make me come home. My aunts, uncle and cousins who would check in and see how things were doing and if I needed anything. You guys are awesome. I don't know how you go about classifying "the best family in the world" but I know I wouldn't trade you for anyone else.
Last but not least, I want to thank you. I have no idea who "you" are but you've found your way here. I launched this site to initially announce my unemployment which was on December 7th. It's now April 4th and nearly 7500 people have read and listened to what I've had to say. I remember the first post I did and seeing the hit count start to climb and going "woah, I have an audience." In my industry, having that audience is everything. It was that tiny bit of affirmation that despite my employment status, I was doing something right.
This site will obviously be scaled back now that I'll have real work to do. There will be at least one more podcast that I'm hoping to do tonight. There will be blogs this weekend on the Final Four and thanks to Heather Prusak they'll be supplemented with the great work by CitrusTV, who is in Atlanta. Past that, this will be an outlet for me to talk about things outside of Dallas and maybe a few in. So until next time, thanks for reading, thanks for supporting me and I can't wait to get started on what's next.
Craig
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