Lebron James vs. Michael Jordan

On the eve of Michael Jordan's 50th birthday, I am going to talk about the hot discussion topic of the week. Mike vs. Lebron. Now, all week the "First take" discussed the question with Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith. Skip took the approach of defending Michael, and Stephen took the side of Lebron. The crucial argument was who would win in a one-on-one match.
Here is my argument. First thing, Michael was 6'6 216 pounds. Lebron is 6'8 250 pounds. Now, to say that one-on-one Michael would dominate Lebron is a bold statement, just because of the size factor. It is a dis-respect to Lebron James. He is clearly one of the most explosive all around players that we have ever seen play the game. He is bigger, stronger, and possibly even faster than Jordan. However, Jordan and Kobe Bryant were clearly the two best shooters ever to play basketball. That is one thing Mike and Kobe have on Lebron. I think that Michael Jordan had the most desire to win of any player in all of sports history. That is what makes him a forever all-time world icon. He is so famous and popular that some people will always be heavily bias that no one could be better than him.
 I think that is unfair to Lebron. He technically has more potential than Michael ever had. he just has not had the chance to prove himself. Now, he may never catch Michael, but, to say he is not as dominant...is a hard thing to say right now. Lebron is clearly dominating the NBA and is almost impossible to guard. I would not state who would win one-on-one, but one thing I would say is this... It would be closer than people think. Jordan would work Lebron with his shooting. However, Lebron would drive to the lane on Jordan all day. My final word is that there is no way someone can say either one would dominate each other.  It is not realistic and just would not happen.

Superbowl Fixed?

In my opinion, after watching Super Bowl XLVII, I started questioning if the game could possibly be fixed in some type of way. It may just be coincidence, but after the blackout happened all of the sudden the 49ers came back. The momentum completely shifted and it almost cost the Ravens the Superbowl. My argument is that I think the only reason that was a close game was because of the blackout. Anybody who really knows their sports knows that momentum is a huge factor. Well, Before the blackout at halftime the score was 21-6. After halftime, Jacoby Jones returned the kick to make the game 28-6. Now, its getting out of hand. And what happens...the lights go out! What a coincidence...if it really is one? I will say as a person who know his sports, if those lights don't go out...its a blowout.
 It wouldn't even have been a close game. Now, people may argue that the 49ers were bound to make a comeback, and I wouldn't say they would be completely wrong. Though, I will say that they were not going to make a game out of it. They might have scored some points trying to come back, but I say it would never have been as close. The thing that makes it even more suspicious is the current investigation going on in Soccer right now. If the most popular sport in the world is being "fixed,"what makes us viewers think that these other sports aren't rigged as well?
 A lot of people would never want it to be admitted that sports are fixed, but I wouldn't want to be oblivious to the fact that it could happen. The fact that Baltimore lost such momentum after the blackout was just skeptical to me. I honestly think that the game was getting out of control and somebody didn't want that to happen. I may be completely wrong and this all can just be coincidence. All I will say is you should think about it next time when a bad call is made. Whether it is a bad call; or an odd scenario like a blackout, momentum is real. I think stuff like that can affect a game...just like it did in the Super Bowl.

Manti Te'o Story Over Hyped?

Honestly, when i first heard about the Manti Te'o story, I was completely insulted as a student journalist. I found the story absurd and completely not worthy of as big of a story as ESPN and the whole country made it.. In my opinion, it was a disgrace to what sports news is, or any news rather. We are taught the term "CATNIPP," which stands for conflict, audience, timeliness, novelty, impact, proximity, and prominence. The Te'o story didn't meet two of those, which were impact and prominence. As a story, It had no impact on society and didn't affect the average person's daily life. So I asked myself how is this news? Then, if you look at the story prominence wise, there really is no importance it has?
As a journalist, you are taught about what is news worthy and what isn't news worthy. You ask yourself questions like; Why should someone care about this, or why is this important information people should know? My point is that a story has to have some value of some sort; and this to me had no impact on my life, and I was never interested in Manti Te'os personal life. The fact that they (ESPN and all other stations) made a huge media frenzy out of the fact Manti Te'o had an internet girlfriend was just ridiculous to me. What's the big deal? Online dating has been around for years, this is nothing new!
The fact that it was a hoax isn't news either, because everyone knows the risks of Online dating. It's almost common sense to not trust Online dating sites like Match.com or EHarmony, because you never know who you are talking to these days. Bottom line, the story was blown way out of proportion and like I said; from a journalists stand point it makes me angry that the media gets by with hyping stories that have no news value like this. What has happened to the media? It scares me to see what will happen in the future if this is the path we are on.