Is the Sports Media Out of Control?
Of course the answer to the question posed in the title of this is yes, but more of the focus here is looking at how out of control the sports media here is using a few recent examples. This is mainly basketball based, but it will touch on a few cases outside of baseball.
While the purpose of this is not to try to continue to showcase my hometown Bulls squad, they have been in the media more often than most of the other teams in the league as of late (more than any team not named the Lakers or the Heat), so two of the things that I will bring up will involve them. If this is enough to make you sick, please leave now, it's for your own good. Also, there will be mention of another recent sports case of media interference from reality that involves a different Chicago team...come to think of it, two. However, while I am no expert on the effect of media in society, I have watched Bowling for Columbine (first off, yes, this is a bit of a joke, and second off, the film did not turn out to be a film that was a pro gun control bonanza, instead being a film that looked at what the media does to shape the attitudes of a society), and when I took my senior seminar in college, it was a course one media in society. The main thing that I've taken from this is to not trust the media, the media while often criticized for doing it in political situations, tries to control what you think, rather it be political, or just who to like as far as what this covers will be. How much though? Well, let's really get into it.
Michael Jordan's speech when he was inducted into the hall of fame instantly became a classic, but not necessarily for the right reasons. It included him taking shots at guys like Isiah Thomas, George Gervin, Larry Bird, and even his old high school basketball coach. However, while the media helped the regular population make a huge gripe out of this, they left out their role in this. Anyone who is old enough to remember all of the first three championships the Bulls won really does understand what Jordan was really saying on that night. The media in those days would regularly define Jordan's career by his ability to overcome any adversity since the start of high school. This became the identity of Jordan for the first 9 years of his career. This is also how Jordan identified the majority of his career, or at least understood it to be identified as. However, we, as the fans didn't see it this way. He was a 6 time champion, and he safely remains the best player in the history of the league. We see the success, we've forgotten about the adversity that went with him the first 6 years of his career, but he hasn't. So, during the hall of fame speech he brings up those who told him he wasn't good enough. The high school coach that wouldn't put him on the varsity team his freshman year, and of course guys like Thomas, Gervin, and Bird who did what they could to freeze him out of that first all-star game. The coach, sure, that looks bad, but considering what the sports media had played up his first 6 years in the league, it's easily understandable, maybe he could have clarified that more, but anyone using their brain understands that. With the other three, it turns out that it was mainly Isiah Thomas and one of his diabolical schemes that he's now famous for. Bird and Gervin were only guilty of falling for it. However, there are more ways of looking at it rather than just saying, "Hey, he's just bitter." Jordan took this to heart, he took this as a chip on his shoulder and as a sleight. He took this to help to drive him to the next level.
Anyway, moving on, the most recent comment that has been made that will be discussed is where Michael Jordan called Derrick Rose the MVP of the league, but threw in that if he didn't win, he'd know of Michael felt some of those years. For those who bought into the media's depiction of his hall of fame speech, I can understand how their minds are twisted into thinking that this is a terrible thing, but let's take an objective look at things. Sorry guys, I'm bringing reality into this. What's assumed to be the case here are the 1993 MVP and the 1997 MVP award which went to Charles Barkley and Karl Malone respectively. I still remember throwing a fit when Jordan not only didn't win the 1993 MVP, but wound up in THIRD to Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon in that order. That was just beyond me. To this date most basketball fans will agree that Jordan was robbed that year. It isn't understating the year that Barkley had, but Jordan was just better. Jordan averaged 32.6 pts, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game that year along with 2.8 steals per game and shot 49.5% from the field to go along with 35.2% from 3 and almost 84% from the free throw line. Barkley threw in 25.6 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 5.1 apg, 1.6 spg while shooting 52% from the field, 30.5% from 3, and 76.5% from the free throw line. While it's easy to make a case from either guy, especially when you throw in teammates since Barkley had Chambers, Johnson, Dumas, and Majerle and Jordan had Pippen and Grant, if you can honestly say that if you are Jordan you don't get unhappy about not winning the MVP in 1993, then you should have no voice, at very least it should be expected that Jordan would be unhappy with that, and it's a similar case with 1997.
So, anyway, that was a lot of talk to explain why Jordan had every right to feel how he felt about the whole MVP comment. There is just a lot that is not understood by fans who haven't been fans for 20+ years, which makes up the majority of the NBA fans. However, popular websites like espn.com take the irresponsible path and refuse to actually make clear what is really being said. Instead they take advantage of the anti-Jordan backlash that has been going on since his hall of fame speech (which is based on a lack of understanding itself), and what do they do, take the ratings over reality.
This brings up another Chicago based incident that happened this past season. Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano (you surprised?) lost his temper in a game against cross town "rivals" the Chicago White Sox (rivals in quotes because I think that the idea that there is any real rivalry there is a complete joke). What resulted was a minor fistfight with the team's first baseman Derrick Lee. First I'll say that the reputation of Zambrano was that of a short tempered guy and that Lee was considered to be a mild mannered guy. Both reputations were TOTALLY deserved at that point. However, what actually transpired was something that wasn't so much the case. Looking over player testimonials from that incident, what happened was Zambrano trying to pump the team up (what exactly was said is unknown), and Lee basically telling him to shut up. I can entirely understand Zambrano's disappointment in his teammate here. I don't condone the fistfight which followed (which is liberal way of describing it), but I understand it, I've been on a little league team where our team has been in it, but had to score runs to win it, have followed it with trying to encourage my team only to hear that one negativity spreader sit there and tell me to give it up. That's just being a horrible teammate, and anyone who disagrees should stick to something like Nascar.
Either way, a couple months later St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter was having a tough inning. To make things tougher, fielder Brendan Ryan made an error during that inning. What resulted past that was worse than a player just trying to pump up his team, Carpenter took Ryan and berated him for making that error. However, it was reported by ESPN as Carpenter giving Ryan a lecture on defense. Carpenter, instead of being displayed as hot tempered was displayed as being "sometimes overly" passionate. When the hell did Zambrano ever get that kind of leaneancy? The only difference between that and the Zambrano situation is that Ryan wasn't as defensive as Lee was. It's amazing that Carpenter is displayed by the media as someone who is just passionate while Zambrano is some sort of headcase. I hate to pull this card, because I normally feel that it's pulled at horrible times, but the card begins with an r. Either way, this is a CLEAR case of one person over another being on display. Any Cardinals fan who is honest will admit that this wasn't a first time incident with Carpenter, which is the same case as with Zambrano, as we all know.
So I'll cut in some actual basketball to cut into the discussion from other sports. This goes to the Los Angeles Lakers. After a loss to the Heat this past week the usual media darling Los Angeles Lakers were dealt a PR blow. However, this wasn't due to the actual sports media, this was dealt from the idiots that are allowed to comment on their websites. Kobe Bryant, after a tough loss to the Miami Heat stayed in the gym for hourst after the game working on his jump shot. I'll quickly admit to not liking Kobe Bryant much, although after LeBron's "decision" I've gained a HUGE respect for him. Anyway, somehow you had people trying to take Bryant down for this. Why? I can't understand. I can understand why maybe you wouldn't be bought on this and wouldn't think that it would take your star further, but to think that it's a bad thing....seriously guys? What is wrong with some of you?
Back to Chicago, we have the Jay Cutler incident. We all know what happened. However, this is where the media really comes into play. Cutler is a very talented quarterback who has been on teams since college who have not made huge strides. We'll put it that way. Either way, he's been put on teams with an underwhelming amount of talent since he entered the league, nobody with half a brain or more would argue that. This year with the Chicago Bears he suffers a torn MCL and cannot play the rest of the game. First off, anyone who actually understands what a torn MCL is knows why he left the game. He could easily do more damage than good trying to plant a foot that cannot take any lateral stress AT ALL. Either way, most of Chicago understood after realizing that he had a legitimate injury (and players who made moronic tweets initially), but then you still had your idiots. There was the guy who called into one radio show demanding to see the MRI (like he knew how to read one) among guys who didn't even make bad comments, but a guy like Philip Rivers who said that he doesn't know what he'd do, he'd leave the game, but he doesn't know what he'd do. Cutler took more sacks and played behind an offensive line that was far worse than any other offensive line in the playoffs at that point. He picked himself up more (especially from hits he should not have had to) more than any other quarterback still around at that time. However, according to the media going into this next season, rather we have football or not, the big question as far as players go will be his toughness, just watch, even though there is not a reason in hell to question in, it will be questioned and will be a major issue according to the media.
Okay, finally, another instance of bad media practice. This one is based on what Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf has recently said, and the fact that I actually feel like I have to address this is enough to make me question the education systems in both the US and Candada, if not further. The quote is, "Is you don't see something special in Derrick Rose then you are blind. We have an outstanding coach, a bunch of players, the team is deep, and if we stay healthy, we have an awfully good chance of winning at least four championships." Yes, that's the full quote. Where are there any lies in that? Where is there anything terrible in there. If he had said that he guaranteed 4 championships, then yeah, I'd understand, but he didn't say that at all. This is another case of ignorance playing a bigger role than reality based on what really happened. Either way, people are trying to play this off as Reinsdorf trying to crown the Bulls champions already when in actuality it's him trying to get some sponsorship, plain and simple. The Bulls are popular enough at this point that no price is too high for sponsorship. He simply said that he could see the team winning 4 championships, far from crowning them with even 1 championship. C'mon people who are supposed to be smart, let's actually think through things instead of picking ignorance.
