Showcasing Athletes In A Positive Light

June 25, 2011 1 Comment

In todays mainstream media society there is way to much negative media cast on professional athletes. Sure there are a few bad apples that spoil the bunch. But why not focus on the positive attributes of the athletes that are being a positive beacon in their communities?

I started this sports blog because of my passion for sports and the athletes that play the games I love so much. As a child some of my fondest memories are from when my father took me to the Washington Redskins training camp at Dickerson College in Carlisle, PA.  I can remember watching the athletes walk to the field and asking them for their autographs. I still have the hat the team signed that day hanging on my wall all these years later.

It has become a cliché that an athlete starts a charity foundation when he joins his team in the local community. It is overlooked in today’s society. It is almost like we expect these athletes to give back instead of appreciating what they do to give back on a daily basis. Fans and communities have begun to take the athletes and their foundations for granted instead of appreciating the support and helping the foundations and charities out. It seems in today’s society everyone is looking for a handout instead of being the hand that helps someone else.

Here at The Fans Opinion Sports Blog our mission is to change the negative media perception of athletes one interview at a time. We will always showcase the inspiration an athlete contributes to us. We will always showcase the charities and foundations these athletes put their hard-earned money and sweat equity into. Sure we will give our opinions on the bad apples that spoil the bunch.  You will never read a negative story reported by us on any athlete. If you are searching for the negative juicy tabloid journalism on sports athletes you have come to the wrong media outlet.

I wish the mainstream media would focus more on the inspiration and determination it takes from the athletes to be great . The physical shape these players keep their bodies in year round to be able to play the sport we love. The love these players have for the game they play. The adversities a lot of these players have had to overcome to be a professional athlete. Instead of worrying about ratings of their print or digital medium.

I am not saying every athlete is or should be a role model for young men and women today. The point I am trying to make is that if our young men and women in our communities heard more inspirational stories on the air than every time an athlete get arrested our next generation might be more motivated to succeed.

WE SPEAK OUR MIND!

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Athletes Making a Difference! : Issue #1 : 87 Plays.org Helping youth in Nevada.

May 31, 2011 Leave a comment

It is part of our mission statement here at The Fans Opinion Sports Blog to portray positive media in sports. There is too much negative reporting going on in the media today. Not enough focus is being given to the positive character traits of the athletes and the good they do in the community. This is the first issue of many more to come detailing the charities professional sports athletes devote their time, money, and efforts making a difference in the lives of many citizens all across the United States and the world.

Adam Bergen TE, Las Vegas Locomotives of the UFL has created an organization to “promote participation in school athletics by raising funding to prevent funding cuts among schools nationwide.” Adam explains further on his website 87 Plays.org ”By participating in sports programs, I was taught the importance of teamwork, hard work and perseverance, which I believe are not easily taught in the classroom.”

With the financial crisis all across the USA the local and state governments are starting to create budget cuts that affect the school districts extracurricular activities. This charity is holding events and raising money to make sure our youth all across the nation are able to play sports in their school system if they want to. Adam want to make sure they youth of today have the same opportunity he had growing up as a young man.

These sports programs are a vital part of character building in young men and women in our society. Many children today are raised by only one parent, in foster care, or in some cases have no parents at all due to tragedy. The coaches in the youth sports leagues give a guidance unparalleled by any day care center or government after school care program. The sense of team work, pride in themselves, the drive to succeed, setting goals for their lives, respecting an authority figure, respecting their team mates, respecting themselves, a winning attitude, and many more character traits to mention are driven  in these young men and women in their local practices.

This organization has an overall mission goal  to help all the school systems nationwide. Its first mission is to help the youth of Nevada who are facing huge cuts to the school system budget. Please step up and help Adam and the Las Vegas community keep the funding for the sports programs for these kids. Even if you are not a sports fan you should care about the growth and character traits of our next generation. There is no better cause then to help the young people of today. For if we help raise them today, we raise a whole generation in the future.

SUPPORT THE CAUSE: Donate NOW!

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The Prophet Ray Lewis: CRIME Will Increase If Lockout Ends Season

May 23, 2011 Leave a comment

“Do this research if we don’t have a season — watch how much evil, which we call crime, watch how much crime picks up, if you take away our game,” Ray Lewis told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio in an interview on the ESPN website. Ray went on further to say ”There’s too many people that live through us, people live through us,” he said. “Yeah, walk in the streets, the way I walk the streets, and I’m not talking about the people you see all the time.” When asked why he thought the crime would increase if the NFL did not play this season.  ”There’s nothing else to do Sal.” Lewis answered.

Now if the words of the prophet Ray Lewis were true all football fans would be people who bumbled up and down the streets committing crimes if the NFL does not play football. Prophet Ray is broadcasting that the American football sports fan will resort to criminal activity because of boredom on Sunday’s. Apparently we live our life through the NFL football players and don’t have lives of our own. Prophet Ray walks the streets no other man walks! If we were to walk the streets like Prophet Ray maybe we would understand.

Now I believe the sports fans will be upset if the season is not played. I believe it will set the NFL back a decade in potential revenue earnings if the 2011 season is canceled. Its going to take a long time for the football fans to trust the NFL again. The NFL needs to do something to include the fans in this process of negotiations. The NFL needs to open up and become more accessible like the UFL is doing in its absence.

American sports fans just want to watch football. We don’t care about how billions of dollars are split. We do care however  that our star athletes are taken care of now and in the future! NFL and NFLPA stop arguing about the money and work on the important issues about the health benefits of the players in the league and the players that retired. It is time both sides agree on an issue and show solidarity to the sports fans. If we see publicly that you can solve problems and show progress then maybe we will cut you some slack.

In his interview Prophet Ray did get one thing right! When asked why he thought the lockout has gone on so long his reason was pride. ”It’s simple, we really got to remove pride. Seriously,” he said. ”There’s no other reason the issue is going on. That’s why I don’t get into words and all that other stuff, because it takes away from life … itself. There’s people who are really struggling for real. There’s real struggles out there.”

Both sides need to swallow their ego’s! Check the pride at the coat check on the way into the hotel. Wear shorts and some flip-flops and get real comfortable. No more jostling to see who can wear the most expensive suit for the cameras. Make a no suit rule! Roll up the sleeves and get down to serious business. There is no need for a mediator if both sides really want a deal done. I am not convinced yet that the NFL owners are felling the pinch yet. I think they are still disconnected from the sports fans and don’t get it yet. The owners will still make 4.5 million dollars regardless of games or not.

There will be no riots in the streets if the 2011 NFL season is canceled. There will be however a boycott of football merchandise and tickets for years to come. As Larry the Cable Guy would say “Git R Done!”

WE SPEAK OUR MIND!

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Digital Media Convenience = Better Fans Access = Better Revenues For Teams

May 21, 2011 Leave a comment

Quick responses to short fuse events and breaking news stories is the essential thread every sports fan or sports junkie needs to survive. The digital media age has made the coverage of sports phenomenal. When I played J.U.C.O basketball in the early 1990′s the coach called the score into a newspaper to run the next day. Today with a simple tweet on twitter or a post to a website from a smart phone makes the score available to all fans of any sports or genre. Social media today makes print media obsolete tomorrow.

Todays generation of sports fans rely on the technology that we as a previous generation did not have. I can remember as a child having to hear the crackling of a radio to listen to my favorite baseball team. Today if the game is not aired on TV I can go online and watch it on my computer. In today’s generation we can receive sports news in real-time. In years past the sports news could be delayed by many hours if not a day. With the increased data stream of sports information the younger generation is kept in tune and interested in the game. A young man or woman can go shopping, attend a wedding, get married, or even go to church and keep posted on their favorite teams activities for the day. I can’t count the times in years past I have missed out of events on Sundays to stay home and watch the game. Now you can take the game with you on an iPad or iPhone.

For a sports fan knowing you won’t miss any action of the team you are following is a major relief. When you get your honey-do list and its time to go run the errand’s but your watching your favorite UFL team and its in the fourth quarter with three minutes to go. Your wife comes in to the room and gives you the look that you dread. You know its time to do what you have to do and you have put it off for at least an hour now. Just pick up the smart phone click on the app that you have downloaded just for this situation. Smile and give your wife a kiss. Then run out the door. Drive around the block and watch the game for the last three minutes the pull off and finish what you have to do.

Have you as a sports fan taken advantage of the awesome technology available today? Do you appreciate whats available for you to use? Are you one of the fans that takes the technology for granted? Maybe you’re a fan who has not tried any of the new things available. Do you read the newspaper or do you read your favorite sports blog? If you have not already bookmark our blog The Fans Opinion Sports Blog

I truly believe the modern technology used by the sports media today has helped the sports industry grow. The ease of buying your favorite jersey online is a lot better than driving 20 miles to your local mall. With better fan access to real-time data and team information the revenues that teams generate has increased. This allows the teams to sign better players which in turn brings a better game for the fans.

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MEDIA UPS THE PRESSURE! FIRES “C” WORD!

May 11, 2011 Leave a comment

National Football League Logo

During today’s normal research for our blog and radio show I came across a link on Fox Sports titled “Think of the kids: Charities will suffer if the lockout continues.”

Now the “C’ word (Charity) was used to pull on the heart strings of the average American football fan. It is intended to put pressure on the NFL and its players to come to an agreement soon because the “kids will suffer”.

What they don’t tell you is that the NFL is still to make 4.5 Billion in revenues this year despite the lockout in place.  The TV revenue contracts are still to pay the NFL this year even if no games are played. The money is there to contribute to any NFL sponsored charity this year as in years past.
What they fail to bring up is the suffering of the NFL players families and the stress the NFL players families of those who are free or restricted agents.
There are kids who don’t know where they are going to school next year. What about the families who don’t know if Daddy has a job? What about the hurt and suffering players who don’t have health insurance now? What about the players not able to workout in team facilities to support their livelihood? The players that are working out at non-NFL facilities are risking a chance of being injured and not being covered by their NFL insurance.
Now I understand the need for contributions to charity and the good that those donations bring to the kids all around the USA. But don’t pull on our heart strings if you are not going to lay the whole truth on the table.

What is preventing the billionaire owners from still contributing to the charities? What is holding the players back from still giving to the foundations or charities of their choice?

I would say to you that this is just a media ploy.

The sports networks are just starting to get nervous that a deal is not going to get done before September. They are now starting to pull out all the stops. They are worried that they will have to pay out the 4.5 billion dollars with out the fans watching the commercials and buying the products on Sundays.

So what is the best way to make the average football fan mad at the “billionaire owners” and “millionaire players”? Tell us that kids are suffering and hungry with no place to go because they are arguing over how to split billions of dollars.

The average fan does not realize these athletes are fighting for their future and the future of NFL players to come. They are arguing over the retirement health insurance benefits for the players who have given their bodies on Sundays for years and are now broken down and suffering in pain. They are arguing over the revenue shares because the average career of an NFL player is 3.4 years.

What fans do not understand is that the contract money is not guaranteed. The only guaranteed money these players get is the “signing bonus” they receive. The rest can be pulled out from under them at any time!
As a football fan all I want is the media to report the facts as they fall. Don’t bring kids or any other heart string ploy into the situation. We see through your BS. We know your just after your money as well!
WE SPEAK OUR MIND!

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Give The UFL Credit! They Do It Right!

May 10, 2011 Leave a comment

United Football League Logo

Since the NFL lockout was put in place some chatter started to erupt over the 3rd season of the UFL and its draft. Where were the accolades when the UFL was in its freshman or even sophomore season?

There was some reporting of the new league going on but it was negative coverage. They were complaining about the transfer fee or they were reporting on the failures of the league to secure positive revenue.

The transfer fee has now been abolished. The UFL had the transfer fee in place to be compensated for training and polishing the players in its league. What they failed to see in the beginning is that without the guaranteed contracts these players can’t afford the fees. So it was deterring some players from signing a UFL contract.

Those players would just wait for an NFL team to call and invite them to training camp with a chance to make the team. With no transfer fee the player can come to the UFL and play. If he gets an NFL offer than he needs to evaluate his options. The great thing about the UFL is its one year contracts. These players are not locked in for a long haul. It benefits the players and the team at the same time. The player can move on if he chooses and the team is not stuck with an underachieving player.

It is my view that the major sports networks have a stake in the NFL. They were and are now trying to ignore the UFL as a viable sports league. Its like the big brother super popular athlete ignoring his pesky little brother who finally got to play in his first little league baseball game and is ecstatic about it.

Instead of looking at the negatives of the UFL league lets concentrate on the positives and how this league is better for the game of football all the way around.

Lets face it the UFL is not and won’t compete with the NFL for a long time if ever. But that’s the marketing genius of the UFL. They don’t want to compete with the NFL. The UFL wants to be and in my opinion has secured the spot of developing highly talented athletes who have played in the NFL that need polishing and highly talented college athletes who need to prove themselves on a professional pro style system before taking a blind chance on them.

With the existence of the UFL it gives a lot of players a chance to play high quality professional American rules football in the USA. These players would otherwise not have a chance due to the limited roster spots in the NFL.

To establish the proper foundation for their league the UFL has invested in some of the best coaches in American rules football. The UFL has hired former NFL coaches who are not only NFL super bowl winners but have some of the best winning percentages in NFL history.

Building a sports league is just like building the worlds largest sky scraper, it starts with a well designed foundation. What better way to design your foundation than to start with the best teachers of the game? These coaches are not in it for the money. They have a passion to teach the game of football and install the burning desire to win into these young and established men.

In my view that’s what has fallen by the wayside in the NFL. A coach is solely based on his winning record in the NFL. He is judged on how many times he has made the playoffs or how many wins he averages a season. His character, reputation, respect level among the players, and teaching style should be the major factors in weighing his success.

When you hear sports announcers evaluating who were the best coaches in history all you hear them say is “How many rings does he have?”. It should be “How many young men’s lives has he molded and shown how to be a better man on and off the field?”.

The UFL has it right! I am screaming from the rooftops trying to get football fans to see the light. Support a UFL team and root for them. Become a part of a family and experience the joy of the leagues adolescence. If you have children then you understand that there is no better feeling than watching your child grow up and being able to be a part of it. Become a part of the UFL family.

Go to the UFL website and pick a favorite team! You won’t be disappointed!

WE SPEAK OUR MIND!

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HOLYFIELD RETIRE! IT’S PASTURE TIME!

May 3, 2011 Leave a comment

Evander Holyfield says he is eying a championship bout after his fight with Brian Nielsen . Let me start out by saying I have all the respect for what Evander Holyfield has accomplished as a champion in the sport of boxing. I just feel that he is way past his time in the sport. His boxing skills have diminished to the point to where he is just eating punches like he is at an all you can eat punch buffet.

On Nov 16, 2004 Evander Holyfield was indefinitely suspended by the New York State Athletic Commission. Ron Stevens, chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission stated that ”to my practiced mind, Holyfield shouldn’t be fighting anymore. It’s the responsibility of the state athletic commission to save a boxer from himself.” At that time Holyfield was 42 yrs old and 2-5 over his last seven bouts. Holyfield told the New York Daily news in 2004 that it was a “conspiracy” to get him out of boxing.

Lets bring this up to the year 2011. Holyfield is now 48 yrs old. he did retire briefly between 2004-2006 after he was suspended indefinitely by the New York State Athletic Commission. He came back and fought 4 fights against ‘walk through’ competition. He was given a title shot against  Sultan Ibragimov that he lost.  Everyone was wondering at his comeback why he was still fighting. It soon became clear that he was in massive debt which Holyfield denies is the reason for his continuing to fight.  Holyfield declared “I’m not going to stop until I become heavyweight champion of the world again. However long it takes, I’m going to do it.”

Now lets get a few things straight MR Holyfield. You are not George Foreman! Your skills have slowed down as much as your speech has slurred over the years. The medical community in the USA determined you were not fit to fight almost 7 yrs ago.

It makes you wonder what kind of person would promote his fights and make a dollar of the punches he is eating If no one is willing to put his fights on then he will be forced to get the message.

I am all about freedom and being able to do what you want to do with your life. But if Evander has brain damage due to his boxing career and is not able to stop due to some compulsion to box or the inability to make a clear and wise decision for the benefit of his health then someone needs to stop him! The people in his inner circle need to stop leeching off of him and due whats best for the human being he is. Evander is not a money train! He is a father and a good man.

Someone please read this and help Evander Holyfield out. Convince him to stop before it is to late. If its not to late already! Give him some quality of life for the rest of the days he has left!

WE SPEAK OUR MIND!

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ASU Fan? Gang Related?

April 22, 2011 Leave a comment

So I’m surfing through Fox Sports News website and I come across an article titled “Arizona State’s new team logo raising gang concerns?“.

The first thought to cross my mind was ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’! I know ASU has been taking flak for changing the uniform and logo of the team. But this is just stooping to a different lower level of criticism.

I live on the east coast and rarely get to see ASU play football unless they are on ESPN or another televised channel. So I am not an expert on their uniform or school logo history. But to criticize the school for a gang wanting to use their logo as a symbol of violence is just juvenile at best.

For years gangs have been using the LA Dodgers colors, the Oakland Raiders colors, and many other professional sports teams logo’s and colors. Has anyone suggested that a professional team change their colors because of a gang assuming their colors and logo?

Has anyone suggested that Michael Jordan stop selling the Air Jordan brand because gangs are killing each other over the shoes?

The issue should be public and police pressure on the gang to stop spreading violence over the communities team. They should crack down on all gang members wearing the logo’s and color’s of the team to commit random act’s of violence on innocent community members.

The gang will get the message quickly to remove the color’s. They don’t want to stand out or be ‘hot’ and noticeable by the police. They would have to switch it up to not be profiled and arrested on suspicious behaviour for wearing the color’s and logo’s of a known gang.

It is also the job of a community member to know their surroundings. If you live in a gangs territory it is not wise to wear a rival gangs colors.

Now I know I am going to get flak for that statement. ‘We live in a free America! I should be able to wear any color I want! I am an American dammit!’

I hear you and agree with you.

But you also live in an America where you get taxed for over half your income. You live in an America where you only have 2 political party choices and money wins an election. You also live in an America where the people we vote into office do whatever they want when they get in with no consequences. You also live in an America where Wall Street bankers were caught money laundering 376 Billion dollars of Mexican Cartel Drug Money and only had to pay a fine of 160 million dollars! http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=asU.b_fCjHTE

Stop stooping to the gangs level and blaming the teams. Get a set of balls and go after the gangs!

WE SPEAK OUR MIND!

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