“Honey Badger” Cooked At LSU
by Cheval John
It looks like Tyrann Mathieu will not have a chance to return to the LSU football team.
The junior from New Orleans, nicknamed “The Honey Badger,” was kicked off the team last Friday after violating team rules.
He finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy race and was a key element in LSU’s run at the national championship last year.
He returned two punts for touchdowns and forced six fumbles that allowed him to score two more touchdowns as a result.
There was speculation that Mathieu could still take classes at the university and possibly be reinstated to the team in 2013.
But Bo Bahnsen, LSU senior associate athletic director for NCAA compliance told USA Today: “He (Mathieu) is permanently ineligible to play football at LSU.”
Mathieu paid a visits to McNeese State University and Jackson State University since being dismissed.
He would not have to sit out a year since both programs are at the FCS level.
He will hold a press conference later today on where he is going to play.
Not All Ratings Are Good Ratings
by Cheval John
Everyone witnessed history on Tuesday night when the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
The gold medal win was their first since 1996 when the “Magnificent Seven” won it at the ’96 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
The only problem is that the event took place three to four hours before NBC aired it in prime time.
Some wonder why they choose to air the event on tape delay when the United Kingdom is five hours ahead of New York.
NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus believes that by showing important events on tape delay, it will draw more viewers than being shown live.
“I think what we’ve proven is that the American viewing public likes the way we tell the story and wants to gather in front of the television with their friends and family-even if they have the ability to watch it live either on television or digitally,” Lazarus said to John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal.
“I inherently trust that decision is the right one and that people want to see these events.”
This is not the first time that they have done this.
In fact, it has been happening for years.
For example, the “Miracle on Ice” that took place at Lake Placid, New York during the 1980 Winter Olympics, was seen by 34.2 million viewers on ABC.
Everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing when Team USA defeated the heavy favorite “U.S.S.R. (now Russia).
However, the event was shown on tape delay as well while television networks around the world showed the game live to their viewing audience.
Those Americans who were either at the game or lived overseas were able to witness history before them while those who lived in the states and watched it on television, saw it about three to four hours after it happened.
To be fair, the announcers of NBC tells the viewers to turn away from the set as they display the results so that those who want to see the competition can enjoy it without knowing the results beforehand.
But, with the internet, people can find out the results of a specific event within minutes, even if they have no intention to because it is advertise as soon as you start using the internet.
It’s true that the ratings are much higher if the events are shown in tape delay.
At the end of the day, they cheat their viewers out of the olympic experience.
Question and Answer With Ashton Mitchell
More than 400,000 students athletes compete at institutions at all levels in the NCAA.
The majority of them will go on to other endeavors other than sports after their collegiate careers are over.
Ashton Mitchell is one of the few who go on to play professional sports.
Mitchell competed for Sam Houston State men basketball team from 2006-10.
During that time, he led them to both a Southland Conference regular-season title and a post-season title.
He went on to play for Liepaja in Latvia, where they won their
first championship cup in 11 years and
was a bronze medal winner in the Latvian Basketball League Playoffs.
After the season, he played for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers,
an affiliate of the Houston Rockets during the 2011-12 season
Now, he is a certified sports for the Federation of International Basketball Association (FIBA)
and run One Dreams Sports, LLC, an international sports agency based in Houston, Texas.
We recently caught up with Ashton to find out more about the agency
and got his perspective on collegiate athletics.
You can check out their website at www.OneDreamSports.com.
Vallano Media: What was it like playing in Latvia?
Ashton Mitchell: Playing in Latvia was a learning experience.
I got a chance to really learn the business and get a clearer understanding about
the basketball side of things on an international level.
My experience as a player was great.
I was in a position to lead my team to a Bronze medal, their first in 11 years.
I was also able to receive huge accolades to put myself in
a great position for the following season.
As long as your winning though things are great.
Like anything it had its ups and downs.
The biggest adjustment I’ll say was adapting to their lifestyle.
Being from the U.S., we really don’t know how well we have it
until we can actually experience it.
I must say, I’ve lived it and I’m thankful for the
many things that I have.
I am happy to have had an experience like Latvia that I can share with others.
V. M.: How did you come up with the idea of forming your own company?
A.M.: I’ve dealt with 3-4 different agents in 2 years of playing professional sports
and wasn’t satisfied with the service that I received.
So, I decided to take some time to learn about the sports agency industry.
It’s always been an interest of mine because of the love of sports.
I just never really took it too seriously.
I began to do some research on how to become
an international sports agency and started the process.
V. M.: What was the process that you took in order to get the company off the ground?
A. M.: The process started with getting my certification out the way.
From there, I tried to build my network and contact as many players, coaches,
friends and teams that I could think of and let them know about the new direction I’ll be taking.
I was focused on laying the foundation of my company
by picking up a few clients that would be
manageable within the first couple of years in business.
Now, I have 4 clients that includes my former roommate and teammate, Corey Allmond.
V. M.: Do you believe that this will be a stepping stone to help future
college athletes to be prepared for academic life along with sports?
A. M.: I think this will be a stepping stone.
I’ve always been one to inform others when I knew of something that may be of help.
As college athletes, its important to really learn and understand
the industry in which your career lies.
It’s something that you can’t just take peoples’ word for all the time.
You have to acquire it on your own.
Many of us learn from personal experience and
I am in a position to give aspiring players the knowledge on
what to expect for them to be successful at a particular career.
It is huge blessing to be a part of.
V. M.: As a Bearkat alum, what was your initial thoughts when you saw
the Bearkat football team’s run at the National Championship?
A. M.: As an Alum, I was excited for them.
It’s always great to get exposure nationally
coming from a smaller division like we did.
I could remember in my senior year the change in football coaches.
I even had Coach Fritz as one of my instructors.
To see the football program’s run was something special.
V. M.: How important was it for you to get your college degree while playing for SHSU?
A. M.: With me graduating in 3 years shows how important a college degree is to me.
It was definitely my first priority and that never changed during my time at Sam.
I was honored to be apart of one of the best Criminal Justice programs in the country.
Although, I haven’t started putting my degree to work, it holds much value to me.
V. M.: For those who are contemplating to start their own business,what is your advice?
A. M.: The only way is to DO IT.
You have to show your passion behind your work
so that others may take it seriously.
Keep expanding your knowledge and learn
as much as you can and take action.
Lost In Translation
by Cheval John
In today’s environment with the popularity of college football and basketball, most student athletes who play those sports do not get their college degree because they leave early for the NFL or the NBA.
Worst of all, their grades are not on par with the rest of the student body on campus.
But at some universities, student-athletes are performing equally or better than the rest of the student body in the classroom.
One university that comes to mind is Sam Houston State University.
More than 400 student-athletes participates in 15 sports for SHSU at the NCAA Division I level in the Southland Conference (with the exception of bowling).
During the 2011-12 school year, the majority of the athletic teams made it to post-season tournaments at the Southland Conference and the NCAA .
These same student-athletes achieved success in the classroom as well.
In the fall of 2011, they had a combined GPA of 2.90.
The following semester, they did even better with a combined 3.00 GPA, the highest of any semester at SHSU.
Leading the charge was the volleyball team with a combined G.P.A. of 3.36.
They gained recognition regionally and nationally as they earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association team academic award last week.
The award is given to any team at the high school and/or collegiate level who earns a 3.30 G.P.A or above during the school year.
The volleyball team were among the 102 schools at the NCAA Division I level that received the award.
Individually, four Bearkats received the Southland Conference “Student-Athlete of the Year” award for their success in the classroom as well as on the field.
They are Travis Watson (football), James Glenn (men’s golf), Jake Arrington (baseball) and Morgan Davis (Women’s Indoor Track).
“It was very exciting,” Davis said. “I had no idea that I was in the running for it.”
“When I found out about it, I instantly burst into tears.”
“It was the best news that I could have heard.”
The most important achievement of it all is that 90% of the student-athletes at SHSU receives a college degree after they complete their eligibility.
Many of these athletes go on to be professionals in their chosen fields outside of sports.
Don’t believe me, just ask Ms. Davis.
She is going to dental school to fulfill her dream of becoming a dentist.
“I knew that it was going to be even harder doing those classes along with athletics,” Davis said.
“I was willing to take on that challenge and I think I did a pretty good job with it.”
Missing Out On History
by Cheval John
When NBC showed the bronze medal game between the Brazilian duo of Julianna/Larissa and China’s duo of Zhang Xi and Xue Chen, I believed that they were going to show the gold medal match between Americans Kerry Walsh-Jennings/ Misty May-Treanor and Jennifer Kessy/April Ross right after that match.
Instead, they showed track and field at 3 p.m., which I didn’t care for at the time and then the men’s water polo match between the USA and Serbia, by which the men’s team got destroyed by Serbia .
Not that I didn’t like track and field, but I wanted to witness history.
I wanted to see if May-Treanor/Walsh would win their third consecutive gold medal at the London Olympics or get defeated by an up and coming duo of Kessy/Ross.
May/Walsh eventually defeated Kessy/Ross by the score of 21-16, 21-16 to claim their third straight Olympic gold.
It was the first time that competitors from the same country were playing for a gold medal since the inception of beach volleyball in the Olympics in 1996 when competitors from Brazil faced off for the coveted gold.
Walsh/May have excelled in tournaments and Olympic competition since they became partners in 2001.
They have been the face of beach volleyball and have grown the sport with their enthusiasm and domination.
Everyone expected them to be in the gold medal game.
However, no one expected Kessy/Ross to be there.
The duo have competed in AVP and FIVA tours since 2007.
They even knocked off the Walsh/May on September 7, 2008 to advance to the final of the AVP tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio.
They earned it the hard way by defeating Brazilian duo and No.1 Julianna/Larissa in three sets to make it to the gold medal match.
But NBC decided to show the game in prime time, which ruined everything and once again cheated the audience out of history.
I was bound to find out the results before it aired one way or another through the internet.
Many people complained that MSN should not have showned the results of the match before the actual event aired.
In reality, they did what they are suppose to do: get the information out there as soon as it happened.
Some even suggested that NBC should have shown the event live and then show it again in replay for those who missed it.
That way, those that missed it, can at least see how they got to that result.
I wonder if the executives of NBC ever thought of that.
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