My Blog

YANKS vs. SOX-13

2009-04-25T17:33:00.001-07:00

Game over, the Red Sox win 16-11. You can’t panic if you’re the Yankees, but they need a win tomorrow to stop the bleeding. Thankfully for them the pitching match up of Pettitte vs. Masterson favors the Yankees a little bit. Although what do I know, I said today’s game would be a pitchers duel. Have a great night everybody.

YANKS vs. SOX-12

2009-04-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

Add Dave Robertson to the list of terrible pitchers for the Yankees today. The score is now 16-11 heading to the top of the 9th despite the fact that espn.com is currently reporting it as 25-7. This is obviously wrong, but if some web producer just guessed at the score you’d have to give him credit for being pretty close…Papelbon is on now and I’ll wrap this mess up once he gets the final three outs. By the way, espn.com’s score is now 18-4.

YANKS vs. SOX-11

2009-04-25T17:01:00.001-07:00

The Yankees bullpen is alarmingly bad, only Phil Coke hasn’t given up a run today out of the Yankees pen. The Sox have added an insurance run in the 8th which could prove crucial as it’s now 13-11 with runners at first and third and one out. If they can stop the bleeding here all it takes is a bloop and a blast to tie the game, but that’s going to be tough against Papelbon and even so, the Yankees bullpen hasn’t shown it can hold a lead, the Red Sox have scored in every inning since the 4th.

YANKS vs. SOX-10

2009-04-25T16:26:00.001-07:00

In a game like this getting up to go to the bathroom is risky business. I chose to stay by the TV and watched Mike Lowell hit a 3-run shot. Boston now leads 12-10, need I say more?

YANKS vs. SOX-9

2009-04-25T16:16:00.001-07:00

If the Red Sox lose this game the scapegoat is going to be Pedroia. He just made an error on a ground ball to second that gave the Yankees a 10-9 lead in the 7th. This game has been crazy and rest-assured Yankees and Sox enthusiasts. Whoever wins this game will surely be immortalized on YES Network or NESN next week. It seems like every time these teams get together it turns into a classic. Let’s see if the Yankees can hold the lead this time.

YANKS vs. SOX-8

2009-04-25T15:54:00.000-07:00

Strange play just happened that gave the Red Sox a one-run lead. With the bases loaded and two out, Phil Coke got Ortiz to fly out to right. All runners tagged on the play but Pedroia was caught at second base. It was a good throw by Nick Swisher to get him there, but Pedroia shouldn’t have tagged in the first place. He was tagged out to end the inning, but because it was not a force play the run counts anyway. Twice in my life I was able to get an umpire to change the score based on that type of play while coaching softball. Remember for your own softball or baseball games that if you don’t cross the plate before the tag play, the run doesn’t count, so run hard when tagging up!

YANKS vs. SOX-7

2009-04-25T15:25:00.001-07:00

Was that Terry Francona or Grady Little pulling the strings for the Red Sox? Granted this is the regular season, but that’s even MORE reason to pull Josh Beckett. Instead Tito went with Beckett who couldn’t get an out in the 6th, walking Jeter and giving up a Damon homer to right that tied it at eight. Beckett’s coming out now and Delcarmen has come in. You get the feeling this game is nowhere near over, and I don’t just say that because the game is nearing two and a half hours in length and we’re only in the top of the 6th.

YANKS vs. SOX-6

2009-04-25T15:15:00.001-07:00

The Red Sox have showed some good perseverance in this game. After 3 innings the game looked destined to be a Yankee blowout, but now it’s 8-6 Sox after Burnett allowed three more runs in the fifth. What figured to be the best pitchers duel of the series has turned into an offensive slugfest. Remember the scene in the movie “Major League 2” when the Japanese player Tanaka tells Cerrano, “You have no marbles”? Someone may want to quote a line or two in the Yankees dugout, because they are on the verge of getting embarrassed in the first two games of this series.

YANKS vs. SOX-5

2009-04-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

We have ourselves a game again. Varitek just hit a grand slam after the Sox had already scored a run. It’s now 6-5 Yankees in the 4th. Baseball is a crazy game. Through the first 3 innings Burnett looked untouchable. Now he’s given up five runs and no matter what he does this will reflect as a poor start.

Before the game got close I wanted to mention something about the Red Sox lineup. Red Sox fans are booing Mark Teixeira every time he comes to the plate, it’s as if “Red Sox Nation” has plenty of experience in turning down $180 million. But my point is that they didn’t get Tex, and if Ortiz continues to struggle the way he has the Red Sox will have some major problems in their lineup. They have some good hitters, but he figures to be their thunder. I’m not sure who will become available in terms of bats come July, but the Sox will need to make a move to sure up their offense if they expect to be around in the end. Unfortunately Bay and Youkilis are tried to prove me wrong last night and Varitek just hit the huge grand slam. Still, I stand by my theorem.

YANKS vs. SOX-4

2009-04-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

Two-run homer for Robinson Cano in the 3rd and it’s now 4-0 Yankees. I said it would come down to length and so far the Yankees are dominating that battle, look at the pitch counts of each starter through 3 innings- Beckett-73 pitches; Burnett- 37 pitches.

YANKS vs. SOX-3

2009-04-25T14:03:00.001-07:00

Burnett looks good through his first two innings. The big thing for him is his curveball, when it’s on he’s tough and today it appears to be on. They’ll need a solid 7 innings out of him today in order to win. The Yankees today made some roster moves to combat some really debilitating injuries. Brian Bruney, who had been terrific in the early going, went on the DL along with Chien-Ming Wang. Replacing them are Dave Robertson and Mark Melancon to give them a little added depth in the bullpen. The good news, if you can call it that, is that Jose Veras is again available for the Yankees after pitching over 3 innings of relief on Wednesday. He’s no stud, but figures to see some time in the 8th inning now that Bruney is out.

Keeping with the theme of the Yankees pitching staff, you have start wondering about the role of Joba Chamberlain. At this point I can see the wheelhouse of Yankees brass devising a plan for Joba’s return to the pen…Phil Hughes will replace Wang in the rotation for now. If he pitches well enough to merit consideration for a spot, Wang comes off the hip injury back in form, and the 8th inning role is unsettled either by Bruney’s injury or ineffectiveness that could pave the road for Joba’s return. At the very least…let the speculation begin…again.

YANKS vs. SOX-2

2009-04-25T13:35:00.001-07:00

Excellent start for the Yankees. After disappearing with runners in scoring position last night they got two RBI singles from Swisher and Posada and now lead 2-0. Beckett was all over the place throwing 36 pitches, only 17 for strikes. If he doesn’t find the strike zone this might be a short start Beckett…good luck Sox bullpen.

YANKS vs. SOX

2009-04-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon sports fans! We’re just about ready to get underway for game 2 of the series between the Yankees and the Red Sox. This figures to be the best pitching match up of the series as a couple former Florida Marlins go head-to-head in A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett. Both teams will be relying on their starters to go deep into the game after last night’s extra-innings affair strained the bullpens. Stay tuned!

Yankees vs. Red Sox

2009-04-25T10:16:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, I'll be blogging throughout game 2 of the Yankees vs. Red Sox series this weekend starting at 4 p.m. Follow my posts and send me some comments during the game and I'll get back to them!

Cold War Returns to Foxborough

2008-11-12T16:52:00.000-08:00

Much like the divorce of the Soviet Union and the United States after their World War II honeymoon, the split between New York Jets head coach Eric Mangini and his former mentor, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has grown cold.

The history between these two coaches is about as sour as the history between these two teams, which have shared much more together than you might think.

The current state of the rivalry can be dated to a very specific moment, in fact a day, January 4, 2000. It's truly a day that will go down in infamy for Jets fans. And a day that has remarkable ties to the Patriots.

It's the day that Belichick, then head coach of the Jets, resigned after less than 24 hours on the job. Belichick had been picked by Bill Parcells, former coach of the Jets AND Patriots, as his successor, but was afraid of the direction of the team, causing him to resign from his position, without making a single football move.

After the 1999 season, the two teams were on equal footing, so it seemed. Both teams finished the regular season with identical 8-8 records, they split the season series and were both at turning points for the franchise.

Belichick would eventually sign on to coach the Patriots, like Parcells had done before him, and the man he replaced in New England was current USC coach Pete Carroll, a former coach of the Jets.

So now you see the coaching links, but don't forget about the former players. Curtis Martin, once a draft pick and rookie of the year for the Patriots, went on to become one of the most well liked and most productive Jets of all time. Don't forget about the Ty Law's and Damien Woody's who spurned their former coach to come play for the Jets.

And while it's true that since Belichick left the Jets, the Patriots have had their way in the AFC East, all indications point to the Jets finally turning the tide on their misery of the last eight years.

Thursday night's game will draw as much attention as the NFL Network and Cable providers across the country will allow it. Jets fans everywhere see this game as a turning point in their season and the way the division looks going into it, that is probably an accurate destinction.

Going into the game, the Jets and Patriots are tied on top of the division with 6-3 records. Both teams have identical 2-1 division records, as well as 4-3 conference records. Whichever team wins will have a big advantage heading into the season's home stretch.

Since the Patriots won the first encounter, this matchup becomes crucial for the Jets, as a season series split would make the first tie-breaker for the division the division record, followed by the conference record.

Jets fans are excited and confident, and rightfully so. After the Jets' season was on the brink of failure, following an overtime loss to the lowly Raiders and a near disaster against the awful Chiefs, the Jets rebounded with a solid win at Buffalo, and then a blowout win over the Rams.

The Jets have scored the most points in the conference and their defense is really coming into its own. Meanwhile the Patriots have scored the fewest points in the division and despite also giving up the fewest, at some point the injuries to their defense will catch up with them.

What does it all mean? It means there's a possibility that the wind is blowing a different direction and maybe its the Jets that are causing the change...

At Home on the Range

2008-04-29T16:43:00.000-07:00

Good vs. Cheap

2008-04-09T12:03:00.001-07:00

In response to the debate we watched last class, I think it is more important at this stage in video journalism to begin with less expensive equipment. From what I understand, the business has not yet learned how to make money off video on its website. I don't know much about economics, but I can confidently make the claim that if something is not making you money, then it's probably not worth spending money on.
Because we are in the begining of this news revolution, I think it is important to supply reporters with cheap point and shoot cameras in an attempt to start putting the content up on the page. If, and only if someone can find a way to make money off of this, then some of the money can be used to supply reporters with better equipment.
I don't think the idea that better equipment will become cheaper is a real good one. Once the cost of "better" stuff goes down, it is usually because there is another expensive better thing out there. Sure you can probably get a polaroid camera cheaper than a digital camera, but that is only because the digital camera exists.

Natalie Jacobson

2008-04-02T09:38:00.001-07:00

Down to Ascend

2008-03-05T16:16:00.000-08:00

Down To Ascend Sound Story

2008-02-20T14:02:00.000-08:00

In the Internet We Trust

2008-02-19T13:01:00.000-08:00

After listening to Damon's lecture I have had some time to reflect on his thoughts. What I have realized is that this is a terrifying thing we have in the internet. But one of the things that struck strongest with me was the fact that everyone is contributing to the demise of the print paper. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that my primary source of news has quickly gone from The Boston Globe or the New York Times to cnn.com or various newspapers websites. More and more I see my friends getting blackberry's or organizers like them and they can get their news from any location in the world. Thinking about this makes me realize that as our generation becomes homeowners and starts families, the print newspaper is just going to get more obscure. I was thinking about ways that we might be able to save the newspaper, but I can't think of anything. At one point I thought that adding links for follow-up information in the newspaper to the website could help, but at the same time what happens if the links lead readers to only use the online source. Although I think I knew a lot of this already, considering that it is the primary reason I took this class, I think the lecture made me delve into it a little deeper.

"The Audacity I Hope"

2008-02-12T16:53:00.000-08:00

This program was a little bit tough for me to figure out at first, but slowly but surely I'm getting the hang of it. I was having trouble at first getting the exact clip I wanted of my interview and was having trouble mixing in the music I need playing. After figuring it out a little bit everything is starting to come together.
One of the things that I really regret was not doing the interview in shorter clips. I have 20 minutes worth of interview and it is really tough to break down and pull out the good quotes. Along with that it'd be really nice if you could fast forward and rewind within a track, that would help me get to a section without guesswork.
I'm hoping to get a few more interviews on Saturday to supplement what I'm doing, that way I'll have a few different voices as well as different music and eventually pictures or POSSIBLY video. I think everything is starting to come along pretty nicely.
P.S. My title refers to the book written by Barack Obama, The Audacity OF Hope, as I watch the polls come in this evening.

What about the class?

2008-01-23T16:55:00.000-08:00

I decided to take this class to gain an understanding of how to do online reporting. I considered taking feature writing instead, but decided it would be much more beneficial for me to take this as this is where I think the profession of journalism is going. One of my main interests is sports, and since I have not seen any real multimedia reporting on sports, I would be interested in seeing if there is a way to combine the two fields.
One of the multimedia stories that I really admire is called Final Salute (to see this follow the link and then click on the slide show to the right of the story) To me this is an exceptionally well done piece which does a good job of complimenting the written story.