Nick's Comm 303 Blog

One thing about this year’s New Jersey Nets: they don’t get a lot of media coverage. There’s a reason for that, they are currently 6-52 with 24 games left to play in the NBA season. To give that a little bit of context, the worst record ever in an 82-game season belongs to the ’72-’73 76ers who finished 9-73. What Joe Posnanski focuses on in his “Sports Illustrated” article is the fact that this year’s Nets don’t really look like a team that could go down as the worst NBA team ever.

This article is a little unusual because terrible teams don’t typically get an article devoted to them in a national sports magazine like “Sports Illustrated.” When sports media outlets focus on terrible teams, they typically focus on why those teams are so bad. Instead, Posnanski writes about how the Nets don’t play like a historically awful team: each game isn’t a comedy of errors and the team actually has NBA talent. It’s refreshing to see that Posnanski tries to create a somewhat positive spin on a very negative situation in Newark, NJ.

Drinking at fraternities has become a serious problem: one student at LSU and another at MIT have died due to alcohol poisoning.

Three more students from the Alpha Beta Zeta fraternity were admitted to a local hospital Sunday morning, diagnosed with alcohol poisoning. Press Martin, from New Hampshire, Al Amalek, from Tennessee and Rob Smith, from Fairfax, were the three students admitted. Martin and Smith were released Monday morning, but Amalek is listed in critical condition.

According to Busy University, the three students were seen at the ABZ fraternity house and multiple witnesses confirmed they were consuming alcohol. “Based on that we are suspending the fraternity and all its activities on campus,” Jan Mize, a representative from the public relations department, said. According to Mize, a suspension like this typically lasts for one year.

“Any fraternity in which the members have alcohol will be immediately suspended,” said university president Harvey Smithville. “A second offense within a year will result in the banning of that fraternity for five years.”

“We wholeheartedly agree with President Smithville that alcohol has no place at fraternity parties,” added Interfraternity Council president Bart Addison. “I am shocked that this incident has occurred. I believed that everyone was adhering to the University’s policy. However, I do not believe that the entire fraternity should be held responsible for the actions of a few.”

Because of these recent incidents, the university is considering increasing police patrols of fraternity houses on the weekends.

Ellie Maston filed a $100,000 lawsuit against Amburn’s Produce Market today.

Maston claims the accident occurred on April 1: she was walking through the supermarket, slipped on green beans that were on the floor and broke her hip as a result. The lawsuit Maston filed says she “suffered permanent bodily and mental injuries,  incurred medical expenses and lost income” and charges Amburn’s with negligence.

Direct-news lead: “Former vice president Richard B. Cheney was hospitalized Monday at George Washington University Hospital after suffering from chest pains, his office said.” http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/02/cheney-reportedly-admitted-to.html?hpid=topnews

Anecdotal lead: “It set in during the introduction of the Wizards’ starting lineup, when there was an intimate smattering of patrons in the arena.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/17/AR2010021705872.html

Question lead: “Have you heard? They’re renaming the rose.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/21/AR2010022103394.html?hpid=voicesopinion

Disliked lead: “We meet here today at the bizarre, powerful and unsettling intersection of real life and celebrity circus, sincerity and corporate calculation, profound apology and ultimate reality TV.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/19/AR2010021904962.html

I didn’t like this lead because I thought it was too wordy and long to lead into what was being written about: Tiger Woods’ press conference.

As has been made public by every media outlet known to man, Tiger Woods held a press conference at 11 a.m. today. He called a press conference to apologize for cheating on his wife and kids, disappointing his friends and falling from grace as a role model to children across the world.

ESPN was gearing up for this press conference the moment they found out about on Wednesday. Ever since Tiger delivered his press conference today ESPN has spent all but about an hour devoted to Tiger Woods. I haven’t seen coverage over an event like this since 9/11. SportsCenter has been bombarded by coverage of the press conference, rehashing the same angle over and over again. There are other things going on in the sporting world than this press conference today. The Winter Olympics are still going on, MLB spring training has begun and over 30 NBA players have switched teams thanks to the trading deadline. But the sporting world has been taken hostage by one man and his 15 minute press conference.

Marilyn Wall, president of the Walls Tire Co., said that the company’s are up by about 20 percent and many of the employees that have been laid off in the past three years have been brought back. Wall said 20 new jobs will be available.

Marsha Moss, director of the local symphony orchestra, was grateful for last night’s audience and prefers playing for them as opposed to critics.

Martin Goldsmith, general manager of the local public radio station, said that their goal is to raise $100,000. This money will help pay for the programming efforts that the audience would like to have on the station.

Laura Stewart, president of Stewart Advertising Agency, claims her agency increased its gross revenues by over 20 percent. She said most business is local but about 25 percent is out-of-town clients.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user p i c a.

Two birch trees stand alone, yet together, battling the dark sky and the tormenting wind. The birch trees stand as a symbol to the havoc that the recent snowstorms across the U.S. have caused. A tiny, stripped bush stands next to one of the trees offering little resistance. Small mounds of snow scattered across the landscape illustrate how the wind can make almost anything temporary in its place. The birch trees seem to be reaching out to connect to each other, to hold on and stay rooted in their home. Many trees sit in the background huddled together for warmth and support, while the bare birch trees stand alone. In the distance, to the right, tall trees can be seen standing straight indicating that the wind will soon quit.

The thin clouds above are drifting away, possibly indicating that the storm will subside soon. With the end of the storm in sight, the trees must hold on just a little while longer for everything to return to normal.

Looking at that headline you’re probably thinking “What!!!?!!” It’s not a mistake. Joshua Tabor, 27, tortured and bruised his daughter because she refused to recite the alphabet. Tabor’s excuse for waterboarding his daughter was because he was “frustrated” and he felt she was “behind mentally for where she should be for her age.”

I’ve seen some crazy stories in the media but never have I seen something like this. Obviously there is no justifiable reason for a father to do this to his flesh and blood. Tabor should be punished with the harshest punishment due to his unforgivable actions.

1. The United States comprises 50 states.

2. A.D. 33.

3. Czar

4. QE2

5. Court-martials

6. International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

7. Navy ROTC

8. Liberal

9. Pour

10. Atlanta, GA.

Steven Pearlstein brought up an interesting idea in his February 10 column in regards to how the recent snowstorms have derailed many people’s lives.  Pearlstein proposes snow insurance. Basically taxes and fees are raised for households and businesses and in return, this money would fund the manpower and equipment necessary to clear the amount of snow we have had in a reasonable amount of time. Businesses have lost money because they have had to shut down and some of them still have to pay their employees even when they’re not working. Not only are businesses losing money, but citizens are losing money because of not being able to go to work.

This column was interesting because Pearlstein looked at what the recent snowstorms have done from an economical standpoint. The only problem I have with this column is that this area does not get this amount of snow often to necessarily warrant the raise in taxes and fees. Most seasons we’re lucky to get four inches of snow.This is the first article in the media that I have seen in regards to the economic impact of the snow. Most media outlets are focusing on the roads, schools, which roads haven’t been plowed, etc. But Pearlstein focuses on something that is a concern to a lot of common people. While some people are glad to not have to work, myself included, there are some people that need to work because they need the money. The news values present in this column are impact, proximity and currency.