On Saturday I went to Toyota Park and saw the Chicago Fire take on Kansas City sitting in the frenzied fan area known as section 8. However, the seeds of information were gathered well before the opening kick.
The night before, on Friday, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with the president of section 8. Then, at the tailgate prior to the Fire game on Saturday, I was able to talk to the owner of the Fire as well as a pair of members of section 8. One of the members was in his first year as a section 8 member, while the other has been a member of the section for several years.
I have had the opportunity to go to a handful of Chicago Fire games the past two years, all of which I have sat in section 8. I have had the opportunity to get to know a few members, and a couple of friends of mine are season ticket holders, so I certainly have an idea of the culture of the group and what it's like.
They are definitely a unique fan base. And that's just a tip of the iceberg.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Da Bulls
With a Charlotte Bobcats loss tonight, the Chicago Bulls officially clinch a spot in the playoffs.
Even with such an accomplishment, Vinny Del Negro still seemingly never gets any credit for it.
Here's a team that has a rookie starting at point guard, an immature starting center (albeit one who is improving), a power forward still learning what a quality shot is, a shooting guard who is undersized and has more deficiencies than strengths and a small forward who's only been with the team for a few months.
Did I mention that the original starting small forward is out for the season and the Bulls are only playing about 7 players a game now?
Despite all of these circumstances, the Bulls are playing their best basketball of the season right now. Perhaps the head coach with no prior experience at any level should be given some credit for that.
Even with such an accomplishment, Vinny Del Negro still seemingly never gets any credit for it.
Here's a team that has a rookie starting at point guard, an immature starting center (albeit one who is improving), a power forward still learning what a quality shot is, a shooting guard who is undersized and has more deficiencies than strengths and a small forward who's only been with the team for a few months.
Did I mention that the original starting small forward is out for the season and the Bulls are only playing about 7 players a game now?
Despite all of these circumstances, the Bulls are playing their best basketball of the season right now. Perhaps the head coach with no prior experience at any level should be given some credit for that.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Three Of A Kind
No matter what the field of study is, the hope of every student is to have an opportunity to meet with people who are successful in that given field.
On Wednesday afternoon, Columbia College showcased three journalism aces.
The Chicago Tribune's Dan McGrath, Jet Magazine's Melody Huffman and WTMJ's Rod Burks all were put under the ultimate pressure cooker: being introduced by Mr. Howard "Unpredictable" Schlossberg. Once that was over, the incredible stories began.
For Dan McGrath, the one that really struck my attention was the backlash given to a teacher who he named in a Chicago Tribune article. Another reminder that decisions of whether or not to name a supporting person in a story are not as easy as it may seem.
In the case of Melody Huffman (who as many remarked was the quietest of the panelists), it was talking about women breaking into the field of sports journalism and the challenges she faced at the beginning adjusting to locker room behavior.
As the old adage goes, save the best for last. In this case, it would be the liveliest personality in Rod Burks. He had many stories and many comments, but the one that stood out had to be him calling the PR man for the Bears time after time, refusing to take no for an answer. That is what true bloody knuckles journalism is all about.
When the topic of how the economy will affect the field of journalism came up the message from all three panelists were clear: don't be afraid, remain positive and be persistent.
That motto, more than anything, is what makes all three of them the professionals that they are.
On Wednesday afternoon, Columbia College showcased three journalism aces.
The Chicago Tribune's Dan McGrath, Jet Magazine's Melody Huffman and WTMJ's Rod Burks all were put under the ultimate pressure cooker: being introduced by Mr. Howard "Unpredictable" Schlossberg. Once that was over, the incredible stories began.
For Dan McGrath, the one that really struck my attention was the backlash given to a teacher who he named in a Chicago Tribune article. Another reminder that decisions of whether or not to name a supporting person in a story are not as easy as it may seem.
In the case of Melody Huffman (who as many remarked was the quietest of the panelists), it was talking about women breaking into the field of sports journalism and the challenges she faced at the beginning adjusting to locker room behavior.
As the old adage goes, save the best for last. In this case, it would be the liveliest personality in Rod Burks. He had many stories and many comments, but the one that stood out had to be him calling the PR man for the Bears time after time, refusing to take no for an answer. That is what true bloody knuckles journalism is all about.
When the topic of how the economy will affect the field of journalism came up the message from all three panelists were clear: don't be afraid, remain positive and be persistent.
That motto, more than anything, is what makes all three of them the professionals that they are.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
It's Miller Time
For weeks, months, and even years, fans of the Chicago Bulls have waited for a major trade from GM John Paxson. He swung and missed on the likes of Kevin Garnett, Pao Gasol and Kobe Bryant and others.
Well Bulls fans the "big" trade has arrived ... and no Amare Stoudemire won't be showcased on a big poster off the Kennedy Expressway.
Instead, the Bulls acquired Brad Miller and John Salmons from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Andres Nocioni, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons and Michael Ruffin.
So what exactly does this trade accomplish? A lot more than meets the eye. The Bulls finally find the help they have so desperately needed at center with Miller, who can still be expected to post double-doubles on a semi regular basis. Salmons, a guard/forward who was being heavily pursued by western conference contenders, gives the Bulls some scoring punch off the bench.
So not only will Derrick Rose have a big man who can shoot off the pick and roll, but he'll also have a backcourt mate who can slash to the basket and finish. Teams will have to honor that more as apposed to focusing solely on stopping Rose.
While Nocioni's leadership, toughness, and versatility will be sorely missed, as well as Gooden's scoring and rebounding, the Bulls made out well in this trade, both for now and the future.
With that in mind, the trade deadline is at 2pm Thursday. Larry Hughes anyone?
Well Bulls fans the "big" trade has arrived ... and no Amare Stoudemire won't be showcased on a big poster off the Kennedy Expressway.
Instead, the Bulls acquired Brad Miller and John Salmons from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Andres Nocioni, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons and Michael Ruffin.
So what exactly does this trade accomplish? A lot more than meets the eye. The Bulls finally find the help they have so desperately needed at center with Miller, who can still be expected to post double-doubles on a semi regular basis. Salmons, a guard/forward who was being heavily pursued by western conference contenders, gives the Bulls some scoring punch off the bench.
So not only will Derrick Rose have a big man who can shoot off the pick and roll, but he'll also have a backcourt mate who can slash to the basket and finish. Teams will have to honor that more as apposed to focusing solely on stopping Rose.
In the bigger picture though, it frees up money for the Bulls. Miller will be one of a myriad of free agents after the 2009-2010 season. Salmons is signed through 2010-2011. Shedding Nocioni's remaining 3 years and $21 million allow the Bulls to be even bigger players in the 2010 free agent class.
While Nocioni's leadership, toughness, and versatility will be sorely missed, as well as Gooden's scoring and rebounding, the Bulls made out well in this trade, both for now and the future.
With that in mind, the trade deadline is at 2pm Thursday. Larry Hughes anyone?
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Clash At The Line Of Scrimmage
Throughout the history of organized football there have been a bevy of offensive innovations. From the T-formation, to the West Coast offense, the shotgun formation and the spread offense, teams have tried a variety of ways to utilize different ways to put points on the board besides garden variety smash-mouth football.
I came across a good article recently detailing a California high school football team's implementation of a new style of offense, and it's struggles to continue to use it.
http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=911196
Now isn't this a true sports fan's dream? The chance for anybody on the field to make a difference in the game ... a true equal opportunity offense.
For schools who can't get the best players, they have the right to do everything they can within the rules to be able to compete. That's exactly what this high school team has done, so who has the right to stop them?
In the classroom, at jobs and not to mention in competitive sports, the goal many times is to be a team player and a creative thinker. Creating a scarcely used offense that allows everyone a chance to participate in certainly fulfills both of those objectives.
More coaches at the high school, college and professional level could only wish to be able to leave this type of indelible mark on their team and their players. As long as it remains within the rules, this ability should not be taken away, period.
I came across a good article recently detailing a California high school football team's implementation of a new style of offense, and it's struggles to continue to use it.
http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=911196
Now isn't this a true sports fan's dream? The chance for anybody on the field to make a difference in the game ... a true equal opportunity offense.
For schools who can't get the best players, they have the right to do everything they can within the rules to be able to compete. That's exactly what this high school team has done, so who has the right to stop them?
In the classroom, at jobs and not to mention in competitive sports, the goal many times is to be a team player and a creative thinker. Creating a scarcely used offense that allows everyone a chance to participate in certainly fulfills both of those objectives.
More coaches at the high school, college and professional level could only wish to be able to leave this type of indelible mark on their team and their players. As long as it remains within the rules, this ability should not be taken away, period.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
At one point in history, the only way to tell a story was either word of mouth or through pen and paper. Television did not exist, and the only way to get a portrayal of an event was through a creative imagination.
Today, not only does television give the pictures, but the Internet can take those pictures, and use visual affects, sound and writing to tell the story a journalist is attempting to convey. A perfect example of this is in the Roanoke (Virginia) Times "Hellgate 100k Ultrarunning Competition" feature.
http://roanoke.com/multimedia/hellgate/interactive.html
Here, they use an interactive visual affects map to plot as well as describe each spot in the course. The writing itself is detail oriented and straight forward, leaving little room for creativity but informative. Horton's explanations are helpful.
As far as using the photo-video-reporting approach to telling a story about a person or event, I think it would be beneficial especially for an event. That allows for an in depth look at an event, breaking it down to give interest to the reader and showing why, statistically it is useful.
Today, not only does television give the pictures, but the Internet can take those pictures, and use visual affects, sound and writing to tell the story a journalist is attempting to convey. A perfect example of this is in the Roanoke (Virginia) Times "Hellgate 100k Ultrarunning Competition" feature.
http://roanoke.com/multimedia/hellgate/interactive.html
Here, they use an interactive visual affects map to plot as well as describe each spot in the course. The writing itself is detail oriented and straight forward, leaving little room for creativity but informative. Horton's explanations are helpful.
As far as using the photo-video-reporting approach to telling a story about a person or event, I think it would be beneficial especially for an event. That allows for an in depth look at an event, breaking it down to give interest to the reader and showing why, statistically it is useful.
Monday, February 2, 2009
An Official Mess
In an ideal world, which is always difficult to have if not damn near impossible, a championship game of a sport is not decided by the officials but by the athletes of that particular sport.
Evidently, the officials of Super Bowl XLIII left that important motto at their hotel prior to the game. Those who are extreme conspiracy theorists could argue that perhaps they were encouraged to by those with a higher league office.
Either way, the game itself was marred with a bevy of questionable penalties that primarily went against the Arizona Cardinals. A team that came in averaging a shade under 50 penalty yards per game doubled that output in the game, a peculiar jump even for a game as big as this one was.
Yet it was two calls/decisions that weren't made that turned out to be huge factors in Pittsburgh's 27-23 win. The first was the 100-yard interception return for a touchdown by James Harrison right before halftime. No, I'm not even questioning whether he was down before crossing the goal line, which officials determined he was not. But it was the missed illegal block in the back by Troy Polamalu on Larry Fitzgerald during the interception return. Fitzgerald, to his credit, got back to his feet and nearly made a touchdown saving tackle on Harrison. However, if the illegal blocked had been called by the officials, the touchdown would not have counted. Barring a miracle final play, the halftime score would've been 10-7 Pittsburgh, not 17-7. Considering the Steelers won the game by 4 points, that is a very striking difference.
The other decision, one that promises to be talked about for weeks if not longer (and one that still has me bewildered and downright mad), was in regards to the second to last play of the game. On the play Kurt Warner was hit as he was trying to throw the ball downfield into the end zone. The official call on the field was a fumble, yet replays at best showed that at best it was inconclusive (in fact, after seeing it several times I still believe that Warner pushed the ball forward which under NFL rules is a forward pass).
So, with the game under 2 minutes and all booth reviews coming from upstairs, this is an automatic shoe-in for instant replay, right? Oh no ... not happening. The next thing you see is the Steelers kneel down and the game is over.
After the game officials claimed to have reviewed it upstairs and confirmed that it was a fumble. Huh, that's funny, I don't remember hearing an official announce that the play was under review or that the play on the field stands as called. Those are the announcements traditionally made on an instant replay review (and what was done after what turned into the game winning Touchdown catch by Santonio Holmes).
No "true" instant replay on the second to last play of the game? Really? Does it take a Harvard law degree to figure out that it might be easier to look at several replays to determine a pass or fumble as apposed to at a game speed glance?
After having their hands on the prints of much of Super Bowl XLIII, the officials on the field took them off at the game's most critical point. That's what I'll remember most from the Steelers sixth super bowl title.
Evidently, the officials of Super Bowl XLIII left that important motto at their hotel prior to the game. Those who are extreme conspiracy theorists could argue that perhaps they were encouraged to by those with a higher league office.
Either way, the game itself was marred with a bevy of questionable penalties that primarily went against the Arizona Cardinals. A team that came in averaging a shade under 50 penalty yards per game doubled that output in the game, a peculiar jump even for a game as big as this one was.
Yet it was two calls/decisions that weren't made that turned out to be huge factors in Pittsburgh's 27-23 win. The first was the 100-yard interception return for a touchdown by James Harrison right before halftime. No, I'm not even questioning whether he was down before crossing the goal line, which officials determined he was not. But it was the missed illegal block in the back by Troy Polamalu on Larry Fitzgerald during the interception return. Fitzgerald, to his credit, got back to his feet and nearly made a touchdown saving tackle on Harrison. However, if the illegal blocked had been called by the officials, the touchdown would not have counted. Barring a miracle final play, the halftime score would've been 10-7 Pittsburgh, not 17-7. Considering the Steelers won the game by 4 points, that is a very striking difference.
The other decision, one that promises to be talked about for weeks if not longer (and one that still has me bewildered and downright mad), was in regards to the second to last play of the game. On the play Kurt Warner was hit as he was trying to throw the ball downfield into the end zone. The official call on the field was a fumble, yet replays at best showed that at best it was inconclusive (in fact, after seeing it several times I still believe that Warner pushed the ball forward which under NFL rules is a forward pass).
So, with the game under 2 minutes and all booth reviews coming from upstairs, this is an automatic shoe-in for instant replay, right? Oh no ... not happening. The next thing you see is the Steelers kneel down and the game is over.
After the game officials claimed to have reviewed it upstairs and confirmed that it was a fumble. Huh, that's funny, I don't remember hearing an official announce that the play was under review or that the play on the field stands as called. Those are the announcements traditionally made on an instant replay review (and what was done after what turned into the game winning Touchdown catch by Santonio Holmes).
No "true" instant replay on the second to last play of the game? Really? Does it take a Harvard law degree to figure out that it might be easier to look at several replays to determine a pass or fumble as apposed to at a game speed glance?
After having their hands on the prints of much of Super Bowl XLIII, the officials on the field took them off at the game's most critical point. That's what I'll remember most from the Steelers sixth super bowl title.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Uncharted Waters
Monday marked the first day of taking an advanced sports reporting class with Howard Schlossberg. This is not the first time I have taken Howard for a class; I took sports reporting with him last semester. No matter what the class is, Howard's passion for his craft and love for his students is prevalent in everything he tries to convey. His personality never allows for a "dull" moment.
However, the dynamics of advanced sports reporting on day one alone are much different than they were in last semester's sports reporting class. To begin with, Howard actually showed up on the first day this time around. The more tangible difference is the fact that there is a second professor in advanced sports reporting helping Howard. That did not exist in the previous sports reporting class.
Yet the biggest difference, the difference that truly sets the two classes apart, is the combining of a multi-media class with advanced sports reporting (which didn't occur in last semester's class). That means, gasp, print journalism students being paired up with broadcast journalism students. Just like advanced sports reporting, multi-media also has two teachers.
There is no doubt that an air of uncertainty and confusion was palpable once both classes were put together in the same room. That feeling wasn't just among the students, but also among the instructors. Never before at Columbia College had a print journalism and a broadcast journalism class been put together.
One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Only time will tell how successful this experiment is. Here's hoping that it works.
However, the dynamics of advanced sports reporting on day one alone are much different than they were in last semester's sports reporting class. To begin with, Howard actually showed up on the first day this time around. The more tangible difference is the fact that there is a second professor in advanced sports reporting helping Howard. That did not exist in the previous sports reporting class.
Yet the biggest difference, the difference that truly sets the two classes apart, is the combining of a multi-media class with advanced sports reporting (which didn't occur in last semester's class). That means, gasp, print journalism students being paired up with broadcast journalism students. Just like advanced sports reporting, multi-media also has two teachers.
There is no doubt that an air of uncertainty and confusion was palpable once both classes were put together in the same room. That feeling wasn't just among the students, but also among the instructors. Never before at Columbia College had a print journalism and a broadcast journalism class been put together.
One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Only time will tell how successful this experiment is. Here's hoping that it works.
Welcome To My World
I want to welcome all of you, male, female, she male, goat, gorilla, cat, dog, alien, Dennis Rodman, etc. to Stevie's World. This is a blog dedicated to those who are passionate about sports, as well as the rest of the world's problems that, through the six degrees of separation, lead back into sports. There will be no shortage of fireworks.
First, let me tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Steven Schucker and I'm a Columbia College senior majoring in broadcast journalism. I have worked at Romeoville Public Television (RPTV) doing high school football play-by-play, had a weekly column in the Romeoville Bugle and have done interviews in the field for Comcast SportsNet (including Dwayne Wade and Lebron James among others), as well as freelance writing on high school sports.
The sports I'm passionate about fall in this order: football, baseball, basketball, soccer and hockey. Baseball is my favorite sport to play, with basketball finishing a close second.
Welcome to Stevie's World. Enjoy the ride and keep your hands up at all times.
First, let me tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Steven Schucker and I'm a Columbia College senior majoring in broadcast journalism. I have worked at Romeoville Public Television (RPTV) doing high school football play-by-play, had a weekly column in the Romeoville Bugle and have done interviews in the field for Comcast SportsNet (including Dwayne Wade and Lebron James among others), as well as freelance writing on high school sports.
The sports I'm passionate about fall in this order: football, baseball, basketball, soccer and hockey. Baseball is my favorite sport to play, with basketball finishing a close second.
Welcome to Stevie's World. Enjoy the ride and keep your hands up at all times.
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