Things I Learned This Semester that Could Help You


The semester is coming to a close here at the UA, and I feel that my experience in this class, Journalism 498D has been worthwhile. However those of you that actually read this blog (I'm pretty sure you don't exist) will notice that I lacked a bit. So I have some advice for the students that come in next semester, and my own opinions about how Professor Rochlin can improve the course.

Future Student Advice:

1. Don't have a job. This sounds dumb because so many people are able to work through this degree with one. However I can't even imagine how much more time I would've had to spend on things like the blog had I not been trying to make car payments.

2. Use your blog. That's right, the man who didn't use his blog is telling you that you should use your blog. My lack of time prevented me from being able to really nail down an entry worth using a podcast for, or even setting up video. This is a chance for you to show exactly what you can do with html, and it provides a ground where you can practice it.

3. Don't be alarmed if things change dramatically. I know, flexibility is a good attribute to have anywhere you go. This semester though, we walked in one day and Professor Rochlin said, "Let's cover the inauguration of the new UA president, ready, go." This made everyone's jaws drop in class at first, but it all turned out just fine. That project helped make this class experience worth while. Real life doesn't have a syllabus.

4. Do what you say you will do. At the beginning of the semester, Professor Rochlin or his T.A. extraordinaire will assign everyone jobs (assuming this remains the same), don't try and cheat to get what seems like an easy job, also don't overload yourself to impress anyone. Just do solid work.


Opinions for the Professor:

Hey Jay, these are just somethings I thought could have been done differently. I am typing them here simply because I'm not much of a talker in class, and this will leave them posted somewhere in case you actually think my opinion is worth something.

1. You said that having a better grasp on the technological aspects of the class will help us get a job. Please teach these kids these aspects, don't ask if they want to. Senioritis struck all of us this semester and I know you could tell, we weren't much up for volunteering. I could see it in everyones eyes. Sad, but true.

2. Stricter deadlines. Enough said.

3. Requiring, not just recommending that people use video/audio in their blogs.

4. If it would be possible, rotate the jobs. I feel I could have learned more if I had the opportunity to (or had been forced to rather) be a section editor, a photo editor, even a photographer. I may not have liked it, but it would've given everyone a broader idea of what we were all doing.


OK, that is all I have for this semester. If you read this Jay, shoot me an email and tell me if any of the suggestions sounded interesting, or leave a comment in the blog. Other than that, have a good holiday break.

Thank the Cowboys

I'm pretty sure it is against my religion to say something like that, but the Ravens and the Chargers are a "quiet 9-2" on the year thanks in part to a lot of media coverage on teams like the Dallas Cowboys.

Again this year the herd of power teams is in the AFC, and the drama in the NFC is overshadowing everything they are doing. You may point to Indianapolis and say that nobody overlooks Indy, thats because everybody knows Indianapolis is going to be good. However the feeling still seems to be that this team is not good enough to win the Super Bowl.

Anyway, LaDainian Tomlinson is having a year that just seems to pad his hall of fame resume', but hey did you know that Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo is dating pop star Jessica Simpson? That's all ESPN radio host Dan Patrick can talk about today.

Ray Lewis and the Baltimore defense are showing shades of the 2000 defense that won the Super Bowl, and now that they have Steve McNair at the helm on offense, a lot of people are whispering that they can do it again. But how are Parcells and his problematic receiver doing?

Granted it isn't all on the Cowboys, stories are coming in from all over the league that make teenage gossip look mild in comparison. The Denver Broncos, and an offense that was going nowhere fast finally replaced Jake Plummer with Jay Cutler, and *gasp* Plummer supposedly knew it was coming even before they played on Thanksgiving day.

Here is what it comes down to, either Baltimore or San Diego could go on to win the championship this year, and it seems more likely that they will be able to stay hot because the media and everyone seems focused on everyone else. These are the two teams that could get hot at any moment, which is what it takes to win in the NFL.

Their conferene once again has a tremendous advantage of the NFC. Not one team wants to distance itself as a legitimate contender. The Bears, also 9-2, are beginning to look vulnerable. Let's face it, they have no offense. Granted we did see them win a game on nothing but points by the defense and special teams earlier this year on Monday night against Arizona, but they are the Cardinals. The rest of the potential playoff field is much, much better than the Cardinals.

So, from the NFC, it may just be the team that everybody wants to look at, the Cowboys, taking the conference. In the AFC however, expect either Baltimore or San Diego, two teams that have been steadily improving over the past few years to finally take their turn in the lime light.

You know that worse thing that could happen? Well it's worse

"As if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened." - Obi Wan Kenobi, Star Wars (1977)

Perhaps what occured Sunday wasn't as horrible as the destruction of a planet that is being described in the above quote, but to a lot of people their world ended.

It is the greatest fear of any football fan, player, coach, owner. Losing your starting quarterback to injury. At first you think that it can't be that terrible, then he reaches down and clutches his knee. It's over, better luck next year.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was pushed out of bounds against the Tennessee Titans, it wasn't that bad of a push, but McNabb hit one of the coaches on the Tennesee sideline awkwardly. When he went to stand up, he just went right back down again and grabbed his knee.

This is the reason why some teams will spend a lot of money on a backup quarterback. At any given moment something completely accidental and freaky can occur and the most important piece on your board is removed.

Instead of tipping their king over in surrender, some teams like to have another shot, or in most cases just survive until the main attraction can return to the lineup.

Afterall, this offseason, the Dolphins signed Daunte Culpepper via free agency. Culpepper was recovering from a harsh knee injury that involved him tearing the three major ligaments in his knee. A lot of people were excited about this move because Culpepper was a pro bowl quarterback with his former team, and Miami had nothing at that position since Hall of Famer Dan Marino left.

So what did Miami do? They went out and signed quarterback Joey Harrington because no one trusts a bad knee.

For once in our lives, the Eagles fans in Tucson are more than pleased about the performance of the University of Arizona football team, because that is all we have left.

Local Eagles fan Mark Schreiner said jokingly, "Looks like Jeff Garcia is going to lead us to the promised land."

"Yeah, and monkey's might fly out of my butt," that was my reply.

For those of us lucky enough to have been in Arizona Stadium this past Saturday, we saw exactly why Tucson will always be a great college town, and never turn its head to the pros.

Discussions have started about the growth of Tucson and what the one millionth resident would mean to this community. One aspect this almost has to affect is sports. Heck, even MSNBC.com noticed this little town and listed it as one of the ten most likely to steal your pro team.

Sorry, we're happy the way we are, we don't want your team. No matter how unhappy we are with the "Arizona" Cardinals.

We're happy because we have our own team. The University of Arizona Wildcats represent Southern Arizona, and the passion in this part of the state is amazing. Yes, I realize we aren't on the same level as the folks in Lincoln, Nebraska, or Ann Arbor, Michigan. However, Arizona fans love their team just as much, even if we couldn't sell out a 100,000 seat stadium. I realize that seems contradictory, but the crowd at the stadium says otherwise.

The reason we can't sell out a stadium that large is because our football team isn't a powerhouse. Sure we have our moments, but "tradition" doesn't apply to our football team. Afterall we are the only Pac-10 school to have never played in the Rose Bowl.

Anyway, what does this have to do with the NFL? Nothing, and that's the way we like it because we love our college team and that's just fine for us.

Afterall, if we take someone elses NFL team, we might end up with the Cardinals. We don't really want that, neither did Phoenix. How often would we have the chance to rush onto the field and celebrate a huge victory like the one we had against Cal? Those kind of moments are reserved for those of us at school, and it would water down our town if the pros came knocking.

Lost In Translation

The NFL season is now officially half over for all of the teams. After week nine, all the teams have played at least half of their schedule and are now readying to make a final push to the playoffs. There is no midseason lull in this league, every game is just too important.

Last night, one of the best games I didn't see took place as I lisened in to the radio broadcast of the Colts and the Patriots.

In the third quarter, the announcers went crazy over a catch by Indianapolis wide receiver Marvin Harrison. "An amazing catch!" they said without hyperbole I'm sure. Unfortunately this phrase, though it does give a sense of how visually stunning a play may have been, there is absolutely no description to follow this that can sum up what actually happened.

I finally got around to seeing the highlight today. Marvin Harrison, known rightly as one of the best in the game at his position was running a route toward the sideline in the end zone. Peyton Manning threw the ball behind him. I don't mean a little behind him, I mean a lot behind him. So much so that Harrison had to do a complete 360 degree turn starting away from the ball just to reach back, tip it toward the front of him, clasp it with two hands and somehow drag two feet in bounds.

Unfortunately this video is nowhere that I can just place it in the blog here, but if you want to see it for yourself, go to...

http://www.nfl.com/video

Hopefully then you will be able to understand.

Sometimes the radio is all I have to be able to get game updates. That is exactly why I bought a Sirius satellite radio for my car and work. Sometimes though, the announcers really can't do a play or a game justice, and unfortunately the two men doing the national broadcast last night just couldn't get the job done on this one.

Don't get me wrong, they are some of my favorite football radio announcers, but on this one, they didn't have a chance.

A Tip of the Hat


Ok, so I had to work again this weekend, so sue me, I have to make those car payments somehow, but that didn't mean that the NFL culture of Tucson didn't rear its head at me. That sounds harsh, but it shouldn't. I'm just a bit upset about how the Eagles lost. Only the Philadelphia Eagles can lose a game like that, on a 62-yard field goal. More on that later.


When I was fortunate enough to take a family trip back east to the city of my birth, I purchased a hat in the Philadelphia Eagles pro-shop at Lincoln Financial Field. I knew this was something that I had to do. Starting my freshman year at the UA, I bought a hat for every NFL season. Coincidentally, from that point on, whenever I bought a hat, the Eagles went at least to the conference championship game, and once to the Super Bowl. The following year, last year, I didn't buy a hat. They went 6-10. So I had to buy a hat.


This past week, I wore my hat twice. One time I went to Barnes and Noble to buy a book for one of my classes. Sometimes I forget I have the thing on, but the cashier said to me, "rough game last Sunday."


It took me a second to realize what he was talking about. I replied...


"Not that bad, they lost to another 4-1 team (the New Orleans Saints), they were a good team."

At work Sunday, after the shock of a 62-yard field goal, the second longest in the history of the league, I took a delivery to the firestation in South Tucson. I set the food down on the table for the firefighters, and one looked up at me.

"What happened to the Eagles today?" he asked.

The same thing that always happens, I thought.

I think that Eagles fans enjoy living in disappointment, that is how we bond. Of course it makes sense, it isn't very often this team overcomes and wins a tight game, at least until recently. The times previous that we did are some of the best moments in the history of the franchise, and are celebrated by the fans like they are the Super Bowl that we haven't won.

Thankfully though, these people are out there. It makes me part of a small community here in Tucson, and a larger one in Philadelphia. We all experience these things together whether we know it or not. It is nice when someone approaches me and talks about it.

It makes it easier to get to next week.

No Wonder

Last night, one of the biggest choke jobs ever by a professional football team took place. The Arizona Cardinals, unbelievably, blew a 20 point lead against the Chicago Bears. The worst part is, the Bears only managed to score three offensive points all game. One field goal, and they still beat the Cards 24-23 to remain undefeated.

It’s no wonder no one in Tucson likes the Cardinals as my buddy John from Buffalo Wild Wings said to me. I think that after a while, people stop caring when they know their team just can’t win, as though victory is out of the realm of possibility.

Last night I had to work while the game was on. Yes, my awesome part-time job of delivering sandwiches for a local restaurant kept me from the comfort of home to see this sports debacle. However I did notice some things while out and about.

In my short shift last night, I took about eight deliveries. Only one had the game on T.V. That was a bar. Of all the residences that I got to visit, no one was watching, even when I was excited that the Cardinals had jumped out to a huge lead. I thought someone would’ve heard and turned on ESPN. Nope. On a positive note for ABC though, a few households were watching the show Heroes.

There is no way of telling whether or not those people that ordered either just weren’t from Arizona, or maybe they didn’t like football, but this was the first time the state’s professional team had played on Monday night since 1999, one year after they made a miracle run to the playoffs.

I don’t think anyone trusts them anymore. I don’t know if anyone here ever did. This is the most promising team they have fielded since 1999. They have managed to start the year with a record of 1-5. The only reason that the team has been able to sell out every game so far, is because they moved into that state of the art new building in Glendale.

I wonder if people haven’t already torn up their tickets for some of the upcoming games.

I called a friend of mine after the game last night, one of the few people in the world willing to admit they are a die-hard Arizona Cardinals fan. He wouldn’t talk to me. He said this one hurt too much. The trouble is, I can’t remember the last time they gave anyone a memory that didn’t hurt.

The last time I saw the Cardinals play was last year against the Philadelphia Eagles at Sun Devil Stadium. One fan had brought a banner that pretty much sums up the Cardinals…

“Thanks for the memories. Both of ‘em.”