What I Learned This Quarter in Class

I'll be honest....yea I did learn a lot, but I don't think I've learned anything new, that I can apply to leadership. I will still maintain, till the day I die, that the sport that really, really knows how to utilize leadership skills to the max, is on ice. I've played since I was two years old, so for 20 years I've lead my respective teams, and I'm about to lead a new team in Bearcast, that I will take on just like I would my hockey team. I plan to lead by example, inspire, and trust others to do their job, while I do mine.

As I said, of the books, I really liked the small Leadership book. I'm not a fan of Bennis, even though I thought some of what he said was great, and I think Mark Ramsey doesn't know what he's talking about, but Ricky Gervais gave great advice in that book.

I think one of the most interesting arguments we had all quarter was whether you are born, or learn to become a leader. I still firmly believe that leaders are born. They learn skills and learn from experiences that shape the way they lead, but they are born leaders.

Today in Baseball

There were two HUGE, HUMONGOUS, stories out of the MLB yesterday, and I want to talk about them.

First, an almost perfect game was thrown yesterday as Detroits' Armando Gallaraga, but was blown by umpire Jim Joyce. There are a few things that I'd like to mention. First, when the call was made, you can see Gallaraga's reaction....now I've never heard of the Venezuelan till yesterday, but I'm a fan, because where most baseball players would throw a hissy fit, he didn't, and actually after the game, didn't have any harsh words for the umpire that kept him out of baseball history books, to be remembered forever. Thats class.

Jim Joyce blew the call. He knew it after the game. So what does he do? He goes to the Tigers clubhouse, stares eye to eye with Gallaraga, and apologizes. He fessed up to his mistake, and confronted Gallaraga like a man should. That's Class.

What isn't class, is Bud FREAKING Selig. What a DOUCHE!!! This could easily be prevented if, oh I don't know, he IMPLEMENTS 21st CENTURY INSTANT REPLAY. He is worried of it slowing down the game....BULLS**T! How many batters adjust their batting gloves after every single pitch? Why not get rid of that crap to speed up the game, then instant replay isn't a big deal! Because Bud Selig is the worst commissioner of all time of any and all sports.

He is willing to ruin history, and ruin the chance of this young man's perfect game. It's not like Gallaraga was 10 outs away from the Perfect Game...THAT WAS the last out. Ridiculous.

On another sad note, my favourite ball player of all time retired yesterday. Junior is the man. I was sad to see him retire, but I think he was one of the VERY slim few who played in the 90's-00's the correct way. He was a good teammate, good community guy, and great player. (Oh what could have been.) His statement he released sums up Ken Griffey Jr. the person:

"I feel that without enough occasional starts to be sharper coming off the bench, my continued presence as a player would be an unfair distraction to my teammates and their success as a team is what the ultimate goal should be"

That is class, something great leaders have, and horrible leaders (like Bud Selig) lack. Maybe Selig should take a few pages out of the much younger Roger Goodell's book. He could learn how to run a league.

On Becoming a Leader Reaction Pages 185-End

The last two chapters I did not care for because I felt it was all about politics and less about leadership. Bennis revised this, for the first time, since 2002, and I can tell, he wasn't a Bush fan and is completely against the war. I'm not into politics, so I'm not going to lie, the last chapter was extremely boring for me.

All in all, I didn't care for Bennis's book, instead, I prefer the tiny book! My philosophy on leadership does not have political idols. I feel as if people shy away from politics because they feel they cannot trust politicians....I really don't either to be honest. What I do trust, and have faith in, is the sports idols that lead teams. I can wrap my head around ideas and challenges that they have I can relate to, and better understand.

In my opinion, there are people that are light hearted, and people who are heavy. Heavy people doesn't refer to their weight, but rather how they think, and what they think about. I don't like bad news, so I avoid it as best as I can. Thats why I'm a sports guy, and other light hearted subjects. When Bennis talks politics, it just doesn't interest me. Plus, one thing that I hate, is hidden agenda's and people pushing their beliefs on others, and I think Bennis has done that successfully in a few of these chapters.

Reaction to On Becoming a Leader 135-184

Again, the very first line is "Leaders are by definition, innovators. They do things other people have not done or dare not do..." I know I'm still the acting Assistant Sports Director, but I can't help but shift focus to my GM position, which I consider, to start the day after school ends. I feel like Butch Jones during the Sugar Bowl. I feel like I'm scoping things out and preparing for the position now, but I still want the natural order (of Kole being the defacto leader, it was Ryann) for the remainder of this year, just like Jones had Jeff Quinn. There are a few things that I need to accomplish as incoming GM during the meeting tonight, and I'd like to address people at our banquet to give a "Rah, rah, rah" type of speech.

What does all that have to do with the first paragraph on page 135? Simple, I want to do something that has never been done at our station. Obviously you know my thoughts on the multimedia aspects which has not been done at Bearcast, but I want to revolutionize how the Directors lead.

As I said during the interview process, if it weren't for the General Body, we would not have a station, and no directors, and no faculty advisors. I want to challenge the General Body to become more involved by using incentives, and motivation for more participation. We are a team, and a family, and my job is to sort through the General Body to see who is willing to put more effort in to Bearcast.

One thing that I believe is very important that I'd like to change is our support system. I've been doing this now. I want our faces to be seen at events that people around Bearcast are having. I think it's important for me to go and support people like Matty Ray at his CD Release party this Friday. I thought it was important for people to go support Mr. Ben Miller during his talent show (unfortunately I couldn't be at that myself) but if the Directors, and your face are shown to support the General Body, and show that we really do care, I believe it will boost morale and ultimately lead to happier, and better quality DJ's on our station!

During the "Getting People on Your Side" Bennis talks about Integrity as the basis of trust. People have to believe you practice what you preach and that you aren't phony to be lead by you. I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve, and what you see is what you get.

All of this was grand until I flipped to the Organization chapter. Well F@*#! Organization has been my weakness since I was a young child in grade school. I've gotten better, especially using things like iCal and Stickies on my Macbook, but damn...I knew one of these books would say you have to be organized, something that I tend to struggle with. I can organize a show, but when it comes to organization skills as a whole, I know I need improvement.

The final section of the organization talks about Opportunity = Empowerment. We need to do a better job as Bearcast of finding other positions for people we think have the skill and a knack for more responsibility. I identified Steve Bohne as someone who I felt needed a bigger role, and now look what has happened, he called a bunch of our games this year, and now he's the Assistant Sports Director, and the Member of the Year. Scott can attest to this same identification skill because of things I've predicted on our show. Certainly I SUCK at saying who's going to win on any given night, at least this year, but I do know my goalies, and who I think will make it big, who I'm unsure about, and who is terrible and overrated. Ask him....I'm extremely good at it. I hope that the Steve pick wasn't just a one time deal, and I hope to do a lot of scouting next year.

One person I find interesting is that of Matthew Tyler Ray. Here is someone that I think has a great show, a great fanbase, people respect and like him, and he's a natural born leader; however, he never attends meetings, something that is integral for a Bearcast Leader to do. I want to start him by giving him a new role, something I've talked about, making him a Captain of Bearcast. Especially in Fall Quarter, I'd love to have him help out with Mike and Brett for Promotions, and also help acclimate Freshman to Bearcast, and to College Life in General. Matty certainly has priorities, and I just hope that he will include Bearcast as one of those in the near future. Fall quarter I plan on giving him some extra responsibility in Bearcast, and talk with Mike about having him as the Promotions Team Leader, then I can keep my eye on him to monitor his progress, and also Mike can tell me how he helps. My gut tells me Matty Ray would make a great Director, but I'm not a gambling man, I only bet on sure things.

Project Update

So I know I haven't given that much of an update as to project as to equipment. I've talked with Travis about what 1530/1360 uses, and they do use an ISDN line. I think it's very important for the department to get the quality that our studio provides.

I know we are better than those Marshall D-Bags, but we will never beat them in a competition until our audio quality improves immensely. I think the best methods available to us are to use something with an ISDN line, or broadcast over the internet. I think we could use something like UStream to send the signal to the studio, and continue to operate the way we do now, but just with better quality. Marshall doesn't want to answer my email because they are afraid. UC Athletics is so much better than Marshall, and they know our personnel are 20 times better than what they could get, and they have heard that Big Duane and Steve are taking over next year...they are frightened that their monopoly on sports awards is coming to an end. They should be!

So back to equipment, Travis says they use the Telos Zephyr ISDN system at the station. That certainly would be a good piece of equipment to have. There are other options in the BSW catalog, but I can't make heads or tails as to which will improve quality. I can only imagine that anything using a telephone line, is not what we want.

I will of course have other ways to improve the department in my complete project write up next week.

Reaction to On Becoming a Leader 67-134

Innovative learning seems to be Bennis's idea of how leaders learn. He says the principal components of innovative learning are anticipation, listening to others, and participation. He goes on to say that trusting yourself that we be self directed in both life and work.

Look, I've always thought this. Leaders aren't taught to be leaders, but born. You either are or you aren't. Sure managers are made, and leaders always need to refine the way they lead, but you are either born with those skills or not. But wait, how do you explain a guy like Kobe Bryant?

Early in his career, he was considered a selfish brat. He ran Shaq and Phil out of town is what people would say about him. How can a leader run out two of the best performers in their respective positions (centre and coach) and want to be the focus of the team? Well I think he was immature. Kobe knew he wanted to win, but had a warped vision of himself. It took an awful rape allegation to change him. I think Kobe was born a leader, and it took a terrible event for him to realize that how he has been leading isn't acceptable. Look at young Kobe to today's Kobe. Young Kobe could ball, no doubt about that, but new Kobe is a better teammate. Just yesterday he had a career playoff high, 13 assists, and broke his streak of 6 straight games with at least (i think) 25 or 30 points. Kobe is okay with taking over a fourth if he has to, or step back and let Odom, Gasol, Bynum, Artest, Farmar, Fisher, etc... have the game of their lives. I do believe that leadership is an innate skill, and in some cases, just needs something to happen to make those qualities come out.

I did think a good point was about all good leaders need mentors and good close friends. I even think idols should be included in that list. Bennis says every good leader had a mentor. I think that's true, and I don't think it necessarily has to be just one person, but anyone who is close to you who helps guide you and advise you in life and career. For me, right now, Professor Oldfield is one of those people I'd consider a mentor. There is a lot that I have, and continue to learn from Steve about the industry, and even technical things. He gives me advice not only for a career perspective, but also, again, in a technical sense, how to interview, what questions to ask, how to film it, etc... I think that he wants to see me succeed just as much as my parents do! Someone like him can really help mentor leaders.

Apart from that though, I think idols really play a party in shaping a leader. One of my idols is my father, because of how great of a husband, father, and worker he is. Many of his views have shaped the way that I think. When I'm in a situation, I can think, what would my dad think if I did this...

I also think celebrity idols are important to have too. Why would people be so angry at Tiger Woods for cheating on his wife? Well, plain and simply, he's an idol to many young people. Whether it's a politician, athlete, author, painter, etc... it's important to have that person to mimic while growing up. For me, guys like Mike Modano, Pat LaFontaine, John Vanbiesbrouck, Joe Sakic, Stu Barnes, Rob Ray, Chris Drury, etc... really shaped the way I lead. Someone like Rob Ray was a more vocal leader than others, like Drury, who lead by being the first guy in, and the last to leave.

My favourite quote in the passage was made by Jim Burke of Johnson & Johnson when he said, "I decided that what we needed more than anything else was a climate that would encourage people to take risks..."

Maybe the radio industry could take a lesson from the wonderful shampoo and soap makers. We need to take risks, make mistakes, and learn from our adversities.

I also took a good look at the section on perspective. The questions he poses are very interesting.

1. When you consider a new project, do you think first of its cost or its benefits? Hmm...I think both, but leaning toward benefits. Take Munich for example. It has a large cost but will be a great experience and a great resume booster.

2. Do you rank profit or progress first? Progress for sure.

3. Would you rather be rich or famous? Famous

4. If offered a promotion that required you to move to another city would you discuss it with your family before accepting it? For sure. Their input is very important.

5. Would you rather be a small fish in a big pond, or a big fish in a small pond? I'd rather be a small fish in a big pond. I want to work in Toronto, and thats a pretty big pond!

BBC DJ Learns a Big Lesson...Maybe

Radio is an extremely powerful, and useful tool, but when used improperly, it can be dangerous. Everyone remembers here in the USA Orson Wells' War of the Worlds where radio incited panic and created genuine fear in listeners who did not hear the disclaimer that it was just a story. Even someone like Don Imus who slandered the entire Rutgers women's basketball team. DJ's have to be very careful to not say anything that could offend, or scare anyone. Now, a new BBC DJ can be included on that list of people using radio, irresponsibly.

Danny Kelly of BBC West Midlands, which broadcasts across...you guessed it, the West Midlands in England. According to their website, Kelly has a "unique brand of humour", with the caption, "you never know what will happen next, but it's guaranteed to put a smile on your face."

Apparently, this number didn't put a smile on the face of listeners and BBC execs.

Danny Kelly's listeners were told that his "important announcement" was that Queen Elizabeth II had died. The joke was apparently targeted at a listener's facebook, but was not well received by anyone.

BBC decided to suspend Kelly for one week without pay and apologized for the inappropriate comment.

Radio reaches a lot of people still, but we can't just go on and say whatever comes to mind. Just like when you speak one on one, you have to be responsible about what you say, because they could affect or impact someone else.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/bbc-dj-danny-kelly-suspended-for-queen-death-joke-1976209.html

On Becoming a Leader Reaction

According to Warren Bennis, there are many ingredients needed to be a good leader.

First is to have a guiding vision. I agree, you have to have an overall vision of where you want to progress.

Second is passion. I agree with Bennis that this is super important. If you don’t have a passion for something, than why bother doing it. If I didn’t have passion for sports or Bearcast, why bother being a part of it?

Finally, the third ingredient is integrity. He says you need to have self knowledge, candor, and maturity. I certainly agree, but I can boil it down into a more generic term. You have to be a nice person. You can’t lead if people think you are a douchebag, plain and simple!

Another part I found pretty interesting was the difference between managers and leaders.

For the GM position, I don’t want to be a manager. In some instances I’ll have to, but I want to be a leader. I want to innovate, I am original, I will develop (but also maintain), and I KNOW I will focus on people, I’ll inspire trust, have both long term and short term goals, I’ll ask what and why, and most importantly, I’ll do the right thing.

I’m not training for this job, there isn’t a GM of College Radio class I can take to learn how to do the job. I’ve had years of schooling and years of leadership experience to prepare me for this task. That’s what Bennis is saying. Leaders are born, not made.

Another interesting point is that good leaders, don’t spread the blame. Look. I’m a sports guy, I’ve learned this over the years. Good leaders always place all the blame on themselves. Don’t play the blame game.

That is how its done boys!

In hockey, they often say that goaltenders carry teams in the playoffs. Certainly the Montreal Canadiens have that in Jaroslav Halak who has been their best player for the eighth seeded Habs, but don't slouch on their other players.

This is how a team with good leadership in the front office, and in the locker room performs when it counts. The Habs have been through a lot this season. Turmoil began when they performed poorly during the start of the season, and lost defensive leader Andrei Markov, and continued throughout the season when GM Bob Gainey stepped down and Pierre Gauthier stepped in. They had to fight hard to even get in the playoffs, only one point better than the New York Rangers.

Nobody gave them a chance to beat Alexander Ovechkin and the best team in hockey. They did.

Nobody gave them a chance to beat Sidney Crosby and the defending champs. They did.

Really though, it's more than just leadership that makes them a good team. Throughout the playoffs, they wanted to win, they wanted the cup more than any other team. Their effort is supreme.

Contrast the Canadiens to that of the Cavaliers last performance against the Celtics in Game 5. Lebron displayed poor leadership and skills on what could potentially be the biggest game, and maybe the last of his career in Cleveland. There is no way that Habs fans boo them, even if they lose in the Conference Finals because nobody gave them a chance to get here. They are showing supreme effort and teamwork. They are trusting each other, and playing at an extremely high level.

Teamwork 101 Reaction

Loyalty. First thing that stood out to me was Loyalty. I am a very loyal person and I continually get upset with the Free Agency because it seems like players don't show loyalty to their teams. I'm the type of guy that would take a hometown discount to stay at a place if it meant bettering the team. A great example of loyalty was the Detroit Red Wings team in the 1990's. Sergei Federov and Steve Yzerman BOTH took paycuts to allow the Red Wings to bring in new players and eventually compete for more cups. That is loyalty!

One quote I liked was Loyalty fosters unity, and unity breeds team success.

I think I've talked about this person before, but our resident story topper in Emedia needs to take a lesson or two from this book, and the section about becoming more selfless and promoting someone other than yourself, she should take a look at. The world doesn't revolve around any one person, and really thats what friends are for! I consider everyone in a director position friends. We will be competing for spots, and if one of them get selected for a position that I wanted, I'm not going to be mad. They are all my friends, and I know all of them will do a good job. I think Duane and Steve could do just as good a job as Dylan and I did this year in the Sports Department. I'm not worried about Bearcast Leadership. I think we have a good group that will help make the station better, interviewing tonight.

The part about building a team, I really think the most challenging, but important step, is empowering team members with responsibility and authority. This certainly cultivates leaders, but you have to be right, otherwise empowering a power hungry person to lead can lead to disaster. This goes along with identifying weak links in leadership.

I liked this book. It really goes in depth to what being a good leader is, and means. I'll certainly take lessons from this book, and carry them with me throughout my life. John C. Maxwell is a pretty smart guy!

Call HIM Captain

So I thought it'd be interesting to show that it doesn't matter how old you are, or who is around you that a young adult can be a good leader amongst a team of veterans. For this example, I'm going to look at the teams left in the playoffs and their captains and assistant captains.

#4 Pittsburgh Penguins

C- Sidney Crosby - Age 22

A- Evgeni Malkin - Age 23

A- Sergei Gonchar - Age 36

#8 Montreal Canadiens (opt for an extra assistant captain as opposed to captain)

A- Brian Gionta - 31

A- Hal Gil - 35

A- Andrei Markov - 31

#6 Boston Bruins

C- Zdeno Chara - 33

A- Patrice Bergeron - 24

#7 Philadelphia Flyers

C- Mike Richards - 25

#1 San Jose Sharks

C- Rob Blake - 40

A- Dan Boyle - 33

A- Joe Thornton - 30

#6 Detroit Red Wings

C- Nicklas Lidstrom - 40

A- Henrik Zetterberg - 29

A- Kris Draper - 39

A- Pavel Datsyuk - 31

#2 Chicago Blackhawks

C- Jonathan Toews - 22

A- Patrick Sharp - 28

A- Duncan Keith - 26

#3 Vancouver Canucks

C- Roberto Luongo - 31

A- Ryan Kesler - 25

A- Henrik Sedin - 29

A- Willie Mitchell - 33 (hurt right now)

So there is a list of these teams, and it's interesting because teams that you would consider a "young" team, tend to have younger captains. The Penguins and the Blackhawks jump off the page for their young leadership. At the same time, only one team that you would consider an "old" team had a young captain, and that would be the Flyers Mike Richards. There are a lot of older candidates for that gig, but it belongs to Richards. It's interesting to see that they don't have any assistant captains on that team, even though they have a few guys who have been captains elsewhere.

The other interesting scenario is Vancouver, because their Captain is their goaltender. Goalies are not allowed to wear the C, so that is why they have an extra Assistant Captain right now. Luongo is the leader of that team, but on the ice, (when not hurt) Willie Mitchell is the acting captain. Right now it is Henrik Sedin who takes over those duties.

This is what I want to have in bearcast. Not every leader has to have a director title to feel like they can be vocal in changing Bearcast. We need to distribute leadership so everyone has the same feelings that I do about our station.

Call me Captain

Throughout my 22 years, I've known of one thing, and that is hockey. I know the in's and out's to the sport and can recite players names, numbers, positions, best players on teams, goalies, trophy winners, etc... As I've said (and argued with you before) that hockey is the ultimate team game. Baseball, Basketball, and in some instances Football are too individualistic sports, they can't be the ultimate team game. For baseball in particular, its all individuals. There is little to no camaraderie in baseball because everything is measured in individual stats. Pitchers = Wins, Losses, Saves, ERA; Batters = BA, HR, 2B, 3B, etc... (only team stat would be RBI's I suppose) and the same thing happens to fielders = errors, put outs, etc...

Basketball is very similar in that individuals dominate the sport. As the Cavaliers have proved, Lebron can get them into the playoffs, now you have to have a good team to get in the finals, but I think there are a lot of teams with owners who are happy with one decent player, and a bunch of nobody's on the court giving their fans no hope...I"M TALKING TO YOU CLIPPERS!

College is the same way too, because I think all of these "star" players are ready to jump ship after one year. It's a joke. They don't care about the logo on the front, but the name on the back. John Wall doesn't care about the state of Kentucky basketball right now, he cares about his stats and his draft stock and the dollar bills that are coming his way. If you are good, the dollar bills will be there after your time at Kentucky is up.

Football is certainly more of a team game than the other two, but still, football has a lot of ego. Very few players in the league are willing to do anything for their team, and a lot of them, especially wide receivers, are considered divas. They all want the ball all the time, even when it isn't practical to throw.

So now I come full circle back to hockey. Hockey is certainly measured in statistics, but it goes deeper than that. There are very few players that one would call "a puck hog" and you'll see a lot of players willing to give the puck up to a teammate. Even the greats like Sidney Crosby realize that you have to be able to set your teammates up, because you can't do it all yourself. That similar situation happened to the best player, Alex Ovechkin, this year in the playoffs. He thought he had to do everything, shooting any chance he got, and look where the Capitals are now! They are golfing after the first round, after losing to a #8 seed.

The Penguins, the last cup winner, have a good team. They had a tremendous offense, a great defense, and a decent but inconsistent goaltender. One of the reasons that makes hockey the ultimate team game is this...personal sacrifice. Do you know who Rob Scuderi is? If I were to tell you Scuderi single handedly kept the Penguins alive in that series would you believe me? It wasn't Crosby, wasn't Malkin, wasn't Fleury, but Scuderi. It's true. Scuderi will never get the credit he deserves, but he layed his body on the line, blocking countless number of shots and saving game 6 to force 7 for the Penguins. Only Scott and myself give this man the credit he deserves.

So is that okay with Scuderi? Absolutely. He gets no credit and gets the oldest trophy in sports; every young hockey players dream is to hoist the cup, and he achieved his goal.

So personal sacrifice is important, but roles are the most important reason why hockey is the ultimate team game.

There are so many roles in hockey: grinders, power forwards, playmakers, snipers, danglers, offensive defenseman, stay at home defenseman, fighter, star, butterfly goalie, stand up goalie, hybrid goalie, back up goalie, agitator, etc...

To be successful you have to have many of these roles on your team. The Cup winning Pens did! Fleury was playing out of his mind in net, and played the butterfly style. Their top line of Crosby, Guerin, and Kunitz was really balanced. Crosby was the star playmaker, Guerin was the power forward sniper, and Kunitz was your grinder on the line, and that line was extremely successful last year. Then a defensive line with Scuderi, our stay at home defenseman, and Sergei Gonchar, our offensive defenseman, was as balanced as they come.

Fighters are equally important because fighting isn't just for entertainment of fans, its about sticking up for teammates and creating momentum. The most important unwritten rule in hockey is don't go after our star player. Here is a perfect example. Drury, our star player gets a cheap shot check from a punk. That sets our head coach Lindy Ruff on a mission, he has to send a message. In hockey, the home team (in this case the Sabres) have the last change, so the Senators put their guys out, and the Sabres can then change lines to match up one last time...take a look and I'll talk more about this.

So, pretty exciting huh! So to recap, Lindy puts his first line out there...not fighters, which Bryan Murray (coach of the Sens) matches with his top line full of stars. Lindy than pulls his line off and puts his fourth line, full of fighters and agitators on the ice, essentially tricking Murray into putting his star players in harms way. Look at #22 Adam Mair in the blue, goes immediately after their star Jason Spezza. Look how many white jerseys surround him after he starts wailing on Spezza. Look at the goalies, Biron and Emery get involved. Emery is a fighter and a tough customer, but Biron was fighting way out of his league (as you can tell). Look at how every man has to grab another guy. They may not be fighting, but they don't want their teammate to get ganged up on. Then look at the coaches, fighting on the bench. (Ironically, the guy that is in the middle with the mic, is the Sabres all time leader in fighting majors and penalty minutes) I can't make everything out, but Lindy is quoted as saying "Don't go after our f*****g Captain." That entire elaborate 3 minute spur of the moment plot was for one reason, to send a message that their goons taking cheap shots will not be tolerated by the Buffalo Sabres any longer. The Senators haven't messed with the Sabres like this sense that incident. Thats what a real, ultimate team does, they win, and they stick up for each other.

Some parents think hockey is to violent a sport and that they aren't good role models, but I'll tell you something, fighters ARE ultimate role models, and the ultimate team players. Those guys are A. usually the nicest guys on the team off the ice B. always help the community C. they do an important job for the team! They know their role, and they know their job, and it's an honour to do that for the betterment of the team.

Hockey is the ultimate team game. Every players goal is not to score the most goals, but to hoist that beautiful silver cup on the last game of the year.

Can't Spell Teamwork with an "I"

So here is my reaction to the Teamwork 101 reading.

First off, the very first quote is wonderful. "One is too small a number to achieve greatness."

So profound, and so very true. No one person can achieve everything by themselves. Lets examine some of the greatest people to achieve greatness.

Bill Gates: Worked with others to develop Windows. Partnered with many to create great products such as that Xbox 360 I can't give up in Media Depravation day. Team Player.

Wayne Gretzky: Nickname "The Great One". 1,963 assists to teammates. Captained some of the best teams. Team Player.

Peter DePietro: Created major websites such as Clinton Foundation and Barnes and Noble to name a couple. Created these as part of the team. Team Player.

Whether you are the Richest man in the world, best player at a sport, or a University Professor who knows his stuff, to achieve greatness, we have to be team players.

Another part that I think was really interesting. was the "Why do we Stand Alone?" section. I love nearly everyone in my major, but there are a few that suffer from these qualities that make them a bad team player. The analogy of the spinning plates, and the more plates you spin, doesn't increase your talent, but increases the chance of a plate falling. I can't stand Big Ego's, and while sometimes I'll joke and pretend I have an ego, in reality, I go out of my way to make sure that I don't have a big ego, cause I hate those people. I'm a pretty outgoing person to, so where Maxwell says he has problems relating to the less outgoing folk, I understand what he's saying. What's the harm in saying hello?

"Working together with other people toward a common goal is one of the most rewarding experiences of life."

Playing hockey with my teammates...my friends...is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Winning a rec league championship means something, because we come together, united for one cause, communicate effectively and play efficient and at a high level to win. Talent won us games. We had a few games where we were just off, and our goalie wasn't playing well, but we had a few guys who could score and they won us games. Teamwork is what won us championships.

I go back to one of my best, and favourite (inline) hockey memories. So, I was subbing as a goalie for some friends who had a double header. We had 4 players and me, the goalie against a full team. No players got rest, and it was a constant barrage of shots that I had to face (one of the teams, my dad was the goalie of), and we had one player who was a good scorer, and two great defenseman. We communicated and came together and ended up winning both games. Everyone was shocked that four players with no rest, and a goalie (who is AWESOME) won a double header with only an hour rest in between games. I probably stopped 100 shots that day. I trusted my defenders to block shots, I trusted my offense to score, and they trusted me to give them the opportunity to win by keeping the biscuit out of the basket.

The three questions, What is my dream?, Who is on my team?, and What should my dream team look like? are very important too. Establish what you want to accomplish, assemble a team, and assemble the team that fits the dream. Maxwell says, "It's better to have a great team with a weak dream, than a great dream with a weak team."

As far as Bearcast goes, the chapter about developing leaders is really important to me, and to my vision of how Bearcast should be run. We need to find people who exemplify important qualities, and put a higher stake in them so that they can take over as leaders. I think I've done that this year with the Sports Director position. I know that if I'm not selected as a director next year, that our sports department will be in great hands, because I have a large stake in both Duane McDonald, and Steve Bohne. Their are pluses and minuses for every candidate, but I really think Steve has shown that he is a person Bearcast should want to have as a leader. This year was harder to schedule because our team was smaller, and too many people had internships and are graduating. Steve was really my go to guy all year long. Never had a problem doing games, filling in for people, and I can count on him to teach the new guys (by vocal leadership, and by example) of how we are run. Just yesterday, during his show, Steve was wearing a hoodie and jeans....certainly not Bearcast Sports dress attire, but I knew Steve was money, and he didn't disappoint, because he had brought kakis, a golf shirt, and shoes with him to look good, and comply with our self imposed dress code. I certainly think that we have some great candidates for directors next year, and I think Steve would make a great one! That being said, I know without a doubt in my mind that Duane would be a great director. He too exemplifies any and every quality you could think of. I can't say enough about Duane. I tried convincing Duane last year to apply, and even went as far as telling him that if I were making the decision, I would take him over Dylan, Scott, and myself. Nobody has a bad thing to say about Duane, and everyone respects him. He's a hard worker and a tremendous leader. One thing is certain, our Sports department will continue to grow and work harder, and become better with the leaders we have, and maybe the leaders we will have!

I finally agree with an author from our required books! After thinking that Mark Ramsey knew nothing about radio (especially satellite radio), I love Maxwell. I think he is spot on and I really believe everything he says. I don't know if this is how I'm supposed to feel, but when I read these words and I feel like I innately know the words in this book.

Leadership Experiences in my 22 Years

In 22 years, I think I have a good idea of what a good leader is. I was first exposed to my leaders, my parents, in January of 1988. When I was younger, I used to think leaders meant being bossy. As a young 5 year old, I of course, thought my parents were bossy, but with age I've come to realize that leadership is much deeper than any single word.

I had many different role models throughout my childhood from my parents, to sports superstars, to personalities. One interesting thing, is that during my lifetime, I don't think I've seen a good leader, as the leader of our country. When we learn about the Presidents of the US, we learn how great leaders Washington and Lincoln were, but really, I never thought they were that great of leaders. They both had tremendous accomplishments, and are a huge part of the history of the world, but to say they were the best leaders that the USA has ever had, I think is overkill. As far as politics goes, my role model has always been, and will always be FDR. I took a shining to him when we first began to learn about the 1920's to 1950's in seventh grade. Why? Simple. FDR took over a country at an extremely tough time in our country, and made us better. Was it he, himself who made us better? No, he had a team, and he had the people following him, he just lead the country. He was a responsible leader because he did what was necessary, including leading by example (something I think is super important). FDR did not want to be filmed in his wheel chair because he felt it made him appear weak, and as the representative of the USA, made the US look weak. He fought through all of the pain, of standing at podiums for an extended time, and made sure he was walking when he made appearances, to lead the country by showing his strength. I'm sure the people didn't know at the time, but we do now, that he was in bad shape, yet still was the most effective president the USA has ever known.

On the reverse end of the spectrum, there was another leader around that time who used leadership, and his charisma, to manipulate people. One of the most evil humans ever to walk the earth, Adolf Hitler, was a tremendous leader, but was not a responsible leader. I mean...he convinced Germans that the Jewish people were evil and the reason for no jobs for Germans. He displayed all of the qualities of a good leader, passion, vocal, led by example (until his death), and ruled for the people (except he did manipulate many people) but just had a terrible, disgusting message.

Politics aren't necessarily my thing though, but being born in the Northeast, I was fortunate enough to be blessed by being a fan and participant of the best sport in the world. No other sport can touch the leadership qualities that hockey players have, and when you play hockey, you really learn quickly how to be a leader, and who can be a leader. From a very young age, I was a Captain of Assistant Captain of many of the teams I played on.

I've always thought great leaders have many qualities. I don't think you could list every quality, because each leader is a little different, but they all follow a few basic rules (in my opinion).

1. Lead by example

-A good leader shows the people what they should do, or how they should perform. Practice what you preach basically.

2. Vocals

-A good leader needs to be vocal. That doesn't mean be mean, or degrading, or appear like a know it all, but a good leader can speak his/her mind

3. Timing

-A good leader knows when to be vocal, and when to step back. Usually when s/he steps back, thats when leading by example pays off, because other people step up and practice what the leader has been preaching, either by actions or vocals.

4. Rule for the People

-A good leader wants to please the people, and give the people responsibility, or a stake in the big picture

5. Perform at a high level

-The only way people will believe you, is if you perform at a high level. A good leader should want the extra responsibility, the weight on the shoulders, and perform at a high level.

6. When the "Game" is on the line, Give me the Ball

-When everything is on the line, the leader wants the ball.

In 22 years, I think I've got a pretty good idea of what it means to be a good leader, and in 22 years I think I've displayed those qualities in schoolwork, job, and sports.

Sports Survey

So I plan on giving this survey tonight to the sports department. I want people to be brutally honest so we can take criticism and apply it next year. With the questions asked, we can really find out what we can do to improve.

This is a survey given to all of our valued members of the Sports Department. Here we are going to ask you questions so we can better understand what we as a professional club, could do better. Please be 100% honest, and please don't be afraid to hurt our feelings. The point is to make this a better operating, and performing entity.

1. I learned about Bearcast Sports by:

2. I joined Bearcast Sports because:

3. How has your time in Bearcast Sports been? Was it what you expected?

4. When you first met the sports department, what were your first impressions? Was there anything that turned you off that was discussed during your very first meeting?

5. What do you consider the biggest weakness of the Sports Department and how do you think it can be improved?

6. What is your opinion of the scheduling process? Do you think it the most effective way to schedule games? How would you do scheduling or what can be improved of the current scheduling method?

7. What do you think of the current equipment used to call the games?

8. Is there something that you'd like to see the Sports Department get more involved with? This year, for example, we started Lexy, ice hockey PBP, and mock draft shows. What events would you like to see us do?

9. Should the Sports department promote more events for Broadcasts, special events (ie Mock Draft), and membership? How do you think we should go about doing this? What do we need to accomplish this (flyers, swag, appearances, etc...)?

10. Do you think you are getting what you want out of Bearcast Sports? Why or why not? What needs to be done to make this extra curricular advantageous to you?

Making Waves Part 3 Reaction

Soooo....here goes!!

Authenticity is an important thing. That is certainly a factor on whether or not I'll tune in to something, or believe someone. I think it's very important in Sports Talk radio, because I think it is very similar to their Jon Stewart example. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, wants to tune in to a radio program or watch a TV show where everyone agrees. Sometimes it's all about breaking the monotony. I do this all the time on the 5 Minute Major. For example, when we do pick-ems', and Scott, Jason, and the Fans agree on who's going to win a particular matchup, I choose the opposite just to create conflict and disagreement. Sure my record this year is awful in pick-em's due to that tactic, but it has opened up the avenue to play jokes on my poor ability this year, and even more conflict. I think PTI and Around the Horn are two shows (albeit TV shows...but PTI is on ESPN Radio) that accomplish fake authenticity well, because I don't really believe Woody Page is that ignorant about sports, I just know he plays a "character" that usually disagrees with the majority to create conflict. Fake Authenticity is extremely important in Sports Talk...in my opinion.

Then, Bill Breen goes on to say that the only fake thing on Sports Talk radio is their promos. They are cliche (which he says in nature are fake) and that promo's seem forced and lame. I don't know how I feel about this. On one hand, I think these promo's are ridiculous because of the stereotyped messages they portray, but at the same time, I pretty much am that stereotype. What do I like...well in a broad sense, I like...sports, women, beer and alcohol, video games, television, and technology. What do most guys like? Sports, Women, Beer and alcohol, technology, television, and cars...so they just play the stereotypes, and I think that describes a lot of men out there, who are primarily your Sports Talk Radio consumers. Is it wrong? No I don't think it's wrong, but if Sports Talk wants to get Female listeners, the culture is going to have to change.

I think the most important revelation in this book is the fact that we may be a few years away from WI-FI in our cars. If we get WI-FI, then that opens the doors to online stations, podcasts, iTunes, Pandora, Last.FM, Lala, etc... What AM/FM stations need to do now is begin boosting their websites to make them easy to navigate and appealing, combined with having exclusive content. If we get WI-FI in cars, than that means traditional radio stations will have so much more competition, and it will be harder for them to succeed. How do you compete with Pandora? Easy, talk/exclusive content. Sports Radio will NEVER cease to exist because it is all exclusive talk content...but will Fox Sports Radio be able to compete against individual podcasts, that will be the question. Who will have more listeners, the Mike and Mike in the Morning, or The BS Report with Bill Simmons? I tell you, if I was a betting man...I'll take Simmons.

Overall, I really didn't agree with this book a whole lot. I found myself really disagreeing with much of this book. I guess I believe the business stuff, but as I said last week, that kind of stuff just doesn't interest me, and it's probably a little over my head. I'm not business minded, but I think I'm creative enough to come up with great content, and to be fun to listen to on the air.

Sidenote...you should have known I was gonna take Tebow in our mock draft after my post last week! Come on Dr. Owens!!!

Even more to the side...sidenote...you should do more radio on Bearcast. Talk Sports with DJ Doc Owens!

NFL Draft Show Recap and Opinions

This is fresh and on my mind, so I'll talk about this event that we did yesterday. First off, wow, what fun. It's really cool to get so many people involved in this Mock Draft. I think this was a good starting point, but I still think we could have done better; and to be fair, I think that is the attitude you should always have ("it was good, but it could've been better").

One criticism that I hear about Bearcast is that there isn't a whole lot of feedback that individuals get. We don't require everyone to listen to Bearcast, and we don't require people to review shows, and I think it's unreasonable to assume that directors and our faculty advisor listen to EVERY show and provide feedback. I'm sure we'd like to, but it's just not humanly possible with all of the other stuff we have to do not only for Bearcast, but for other coursework, job, and other extra curricular activities.

The reason I bring that up is because I see Jason as a really good radio person. He's funny, energetic, and knowledgeable, in particular, with football. That being said, we all aren't perfect, and we need to all hear criticism to become better. There were times yesterday where I felt Jason panicked about what to talk about and began to blank. There were a few DJ errors that shouldn't have happened, and while we were all good, we could've been better.

The actual planning part may have lead to those DJ errors. First off, the actual idea is GREAT!!! We should be putting on these type of shows, because ultimately, I think this could be something that people would want to listen to, plus we can get many different people involved. However, I think there was a lack of communication for this event. I didn't know about this until a week ago. Everyone has ideas as to how events should be run, and if more people were involved in the planning, we could have came up with some great ideas, and implemented them. It's the same principal as to when you prepare for my show. I consult Scott, see what ideas he has, and then really over-prepare so that we don't have dumb time fillers.

So for next year, the idea would be to assign a team leader, Jason, and Jason would be in charge of the event. Then you have the Sports Director, Assistant Sports Director, and the Faculty Advisor participate, in other words, 4 representatives from Bearcast. Then this is what I would do. I'd find four respected people in the community to see if they would be interested in participating. Maybe someone from the Enquirer, a Sports radio/TV personality (Mo, Lance, Ken Broo, Dave Lapam, C. Trent, etc..), a member of the Bearcats football team (be it coach or player), and who knows....perhaps reach out to someone like Chad Ochocinco. I think he'd have some fun doing this. He likes doing some interesting stuff, and I think with his presence in the social media websites, he is easier to get a hold of. Lets aim for the sky...right! This is just an idea, but if we get people communicating, and involved, we could really turn this into something really fun, and really big.

Promoting this event was also an issue. When I was asked to become involved, it was, and is Dylan's and Jason's event, so I stayed hands off. I don't want to get the reputation of being a control freak, or someone who takes charge over other people's stuff, it's just not my style. However, suggestions I think are fine. Last week, I suggested to Dylan and Jason to email Zach to promote the event on our website...that just happened the day OF the draft. Next year, we have to promote this better, because everyone likes Mock Drafts.

So, NBA draft is June 24th, but who's to say we can't do a Mock Draft on the Tipoff with Steve Bohne a few weeks prior. In fact, I'm going to talk to him today about his interest in doing this type of thing for the NBA. We can take what we did, what worked, and what didn't work, fix it, and do another Mock Draft.

I thought the two best things that happened yesterday, were two, somewhat shocking, picks. First Dan taking Colt McCoy 8 overall. Normally I'd say that it's really dumb and makes us look bad if we do something ridiculous, but, in this situation, I think it works perfectly. Let me ask you, how many draft "experts" said that the Raiders would draft Darius Heyward-Bey? Exactly. Dan taking McCoy was great because, it was almost like counting on Al Davis to do something stupid. They could certainly trade down to get McCoy, but taking him over Claussen at 8 is genius. Secondly, the fake Buffalo - San Diego trade and the pick of Tebow at 28 overall was great because look how much conflict it started. Conflict makes good radio!

We talk about it in Emedia Programming, and in Ramsey's book that Radio doesn't like to take chances...but I think a Mock Draft on 1530 or 1360 would be a great idea...but if they don't want to do it, lets do it on Bearcast. To me, it is not risky doing any NFL Draft coverage.

Improving the Sports Department Part 1

So, I have the task of improving the Sports Department, so I've started a little bit of research.

First off, I have emailed Bobby Iddings, the Sports Director at WMUL-FM 88.1, or Marshall University's Student Internet Radio Station. Hopefully he can provide me some insight as to what equipment they use, and how they run the sports department. I looked up the past Sports Play by Play award winners and They were all Marshall University, and one Ithica College. I looked up their radio station, and I don't think they do any sports, anymore. I have never listened to a Marshall Broadcast (although I do plan on it now so I can see what makes them so good), but I just have this gut feeling that they only thing they have on us is better equipment. Sure I know there are a few guys in our sports department that probably don't have it, but at the same time, I am confident that the core of our department is better than theirs.

I started doing some research on the different types of sports equipment, but I want to ask around to see what kind of equipment is the best for what we need. I've also sent an email out to Travis Holmes and Mo Egger, as to what the professionals use when they broadcast remotely.

I also talked with Matt Hueneman about sound and he gave me some ideas. One avenue that could work for us could be using an actual computer and two SM-58 mic's and one condenser mic, and we could broadcast on UStream and have the studio guy patch the feed through, so that we sound a lot better. It's an idea, but I want to keep looking.

I'm in the process of creating the survey that I'm going to give at our sports meeting next Thursday. I want it to be anonymous so that people don't hold back. We need honest criticism.

I have some other ideas of ways to improve, but I'm looking into options right now, and more ideas come to me every day!

Reaction to Making Waves Part 2

My favourite chapter in the reading was about how to make your morning show funny. I think this is extremely difficult for the same reasons that late night TV shows are difficult. You have to have new, topical material to talk about day in and day out and find ways to make it funny. Sure some jokes are misses, but some aren't.

Steve Kaplan says the best way to structure a show in the morning is having a good cast of characters, and I know the perfect example for this. Last year, I would listen to Mo Egger on my way to campus, because I hated (still hate) Mike and Mike in the Morning, so Mo was the default choice. My opinion of Mo is that he's a nice guy, he's kind of funny, but as far as sports goes, he isn't opinionated enough. Sometimes you see him go "I think Adam Rosales has to go.....but maybe you keep him around as a depth player." Every other host would say, "Adam Rosales, SUCKS, and we need to get rid of him. Sure it's nice to see him sprint around the bases after a homerun, but after the third time of seeing that, who cares. He can't hit, he can't field so why keep him." The problem with Mo is he backs away from his opinions.

All that being said, I listened to Mo until his show was cancelled in budget cuts forced Fox Sports to put the Dan Patrick Show on. I was a little wary because a lot of the national shows aren't really that good, but I gave Dan a shot. I've always liked him, and he's from Mason (Comet Country!), so I gave him a shot. I've been hooked ever since. Dan is great. He is a great interviewer, and gets great guests, and asks his guests the questions that take some balls to say to someone. Connecting what Steve Kaplan says with Dan is simple....characters.

Dan Patrick- egotistical, full of himself, picks on his basketball skill by using words like "silky smooth jumpshot" and telling Coach K he could have started for Duke. He's experienced, married, and has kids so continually gives us life lessons.

The Danettes

Exec. Producer Paul "Pauly" Pabst- Soccer fan who gets made fun of by Dan a lot. Also a Cubs fan so....yea.....

Exec. Producer Todd "Fritzy" Fritz- Huge Broncos fan, gets made fun of constantly because he is the person that gets the guests on the show. Sends guests long emails and talks to them like he's the host of the show. Also contributes a few jokes here and there!

Producer Patrick "Seton" O'Connor- Huge Yankees fan and notorious story topper. Seton is the butt of many of Dan's jokes.

Producer Andrew "McLovin" Perloff- Huge Philadelphia sports fan. McLovin (in my opinion) is the funniest person on the show besides Dan.

So those are the main characters and they all rip on each other (including on Dan). They frequently bet on sporting events with the loser facing a few Dodgeball tosses. They get in fun situations and mischief (like this year, Seton and Fritzy thought they could block Tony Siragusa, which they couldn't). It's a sports show, that's more than a sports show that is funny and develops characters. I mean look at this! It's a damn dictionary of all of the terms they use!!! Even callers play a character, because when you call the DP Show, you gotta first say "(Your height, your weight)" then you hear a bell, and you continue with your call. Everything is great about this show, and it's successful because it's characters are interesting, and they are all funny, especially when they interact together. His guests seem to have more fun too. You think Coach K is uptight...until you listen to him insult Dan! My favourite Sportscentre anchors were always Dan Patrick and Rich Eisen, and now that Eisen is with the NFL Network, he is a frequent guest, and he and Dan are always so funny together!

One thing I've realized with reading this book is that I'm not a business person. I know it's important to know the business side of everything, but I know that I don't have the personality and the care that other people have toward the business side. Yea I think radio needs to change, and become more branded, and more than just a broadcasted radio show. The chapter that discusses video with radio is really important. Keeping with the theme of sports talk radio, DP Show on Direct TV 101, Mike and Mike, and the Scott Van Pelt Show on ESPN2, Colin Cowherd on ESPNU, Rome is Burning (sure it's not like his radio show but another radio personality on air) on ESPN. Here is what radio needs to figure out though. National syndicated shows should find ways to become more innovative, and if that means taking content from TV and putting it on radio, or vice versa, than we should do it. If it means scouring the podcasts to find a diamond in the rough, than so be it!

Tune in next week to this blog as I go more in depth as to another person with characters on his show, yet he's only in podcast form right now. Stay tuned!!!

Leadership: By Tim Tebow and Brandon Kisker

First off let me say this....not with the 9th overall pick, but I HOPE the Bills draft Tim Tebow. I'm not a Tebow hater, and I'm not a Tebow lover, but I think Tim Tebow has a lot of great qualities that could rub off on the team. I'm not a hardcore religious person like Tebow is, but I really admire his leadership skills. In the history of the NFL draft, I don't think there has ever been another player who could rely on his "intangibles" to get drafted in the first 2 rounds of the NFL Draft, and the number one quality of Tebow, is his leadership.

I think Tebow has the right combination of personality and work ethic to be successful, which is why I think he will ultimately be successful in the NFL. His style of leadership is certainly a vocal leader, but I think he also goes out and leads by example. I also think Tebow is pretty genuine. What you see is what you get with him.

I think there are many people in sports you can look up to in terms of leadership style, and I'm a big proponent of using a "sports style" form of leadership. I'll write about that in a later post.

What do the scouts say about Tebow? He may not have the skills that Sam Bradford has right now, but he is working hard on developing those skills, and most importantly, is showing that he is willing to change his bad habits (I saw Gruden working with him....let me tell you, he has changed).

Now take a look at Jimmy Clausen...what do scouts say about him? They go on and on about his skill, but say he has an attitude problem, and may be too cocky. How can someone like him lead a team with a bad attitude? Thats the difference between Tebow and Clausen...I think Tebow is willing to change and adapt, and will be known as a "players" quarterback. First one in the weight room, last one out. The veterans will love this kid.

Now sure thats great for Tebow, who will make millions regardless of his NFL career, but what can I take from this and apply to radio. Well first off I think being a nice genuine person is a good start. People will want to work for you if you are a friend too. Sure you have to know when to stop being a friend and to be a boss, but if people like working for you, the moral will be up and people will be happier to work for you (in my opinion).

All that said, you have to know when to call out someone, and how to do it. Remember when Tebow gave his press conference speech saying that he will never lose after a poor effort from his team....look at the end result. It's all about motivation. I have to motivate my employees, and while there are many ways of doing this, you have to be very particular about the method.

Work ethic is one of the most important things, and I think this goes hand in hand with leading by example. For example, in Fall quarter, and really all year long, I've been doing my best to lead by example to the younger students in eMedia. I made sure I never missed a class, that I completed all homework, went above and beyond on assignments, and helped anyone that ever needed help. When I was a freshman nobody ever showed me how to be a good student. I thought it would be like high school, which came very easy to me. Well when I was at SUNY @ Buffalo, my grades were really bad. I didn't try hard, I skipped some classes, and was on my own for the first time in my life. When I transfered to UC, and especially when I wanted to get into eMedia, I thought everything would be handed to me. I learned that sometimes, life isn't always fair, because I thought my experience at Buffalo's student radio station (WRUB) I'd get in to eMedia for sure! WRONG!!! When I met with Ms. Fox and gave her my demo tape, she handed it back at me and basically told me all they care about is grades. I'm not going to get into why I think that is kind of stupid, but the point is, it made me work really hard to improve myself.

Now as a third year Freshman again, I want to give back and help illustrate to younger students how important school is, and how seriously you should take it. I continue to lead by example, and be as nice and genuine as I can to everyone. I think I have affected other students and their habits, to show them what has to be done, but some others may have been a lost cause, and I know in one case my work ethic is to blame.

There was a student in Fall's History of Emedia Class that would show up late all the time. Everyday, at least 15 minutes late, and he was always playing games and never paying attention. So we had to give a presentation, and my presentation was about ESPN. I gave my presentation, which only 2 of the 4 group members (including me) actually did work on, and after class was over.

Let me say, that sports is super interesting to me, but certainly not to everyone. I know not everyone loves or likes ESPN, but it is a huge industry and has changed how sports programming is presented in America. I realized when I was standing up there, how easy it is for teachers to tell who pays attention, and who doesn't. Well this kid was not paying attention and I could tell. So when he came up after class, I thought he was going to ask me to clarify something or ask me a question....instead...he asked if I could put a copy of my powerpoint on his flash drive.....WHAT!?!?! I, realizing I have my one shot at trying to give this kid, the kick in the ass he needed (the same kick that I wish I got my Freshman year) and told him no and that I saw him not paying attention, and that he should have taken notes....well...I haven't seen this kid since Fall quarter ended.

So I think Tim Tebow and his leadership methods are very admirable, and easily mimicked in any situation. I like the way he leads a team, but even more important than his leadership, is the fact that he's a winner. Everyone wants to win, in a job setting or in a game setting. I aim to win, and will lead my team in the best way possible to get that win, and then share that win as a team, not as a boss and his employees.

...

...

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TIM TEBOW FOR BILLS QB!!!!

Wanna be part of the media in Somalia? I sure as hell don't!!!!

So I was looking at some news and found an interesting story about radio stations in Mogadishu in the beautiful country of Somalia. Everyone knows about their infamous pirates, but I didn't know a whole lot about the country other than that. Well, this article paints a pretty picture of Somalia.

14 radio stations in Mogadishu are adhering to a ban by insurgent groups to stop playing music, or face dire consequences. This article goes on to say that if members of the media do not follow the insurgent's orders, they get anywhere from roughed up, to murdered. In 2009, nine journalists were killed in Somalia (did some research, Forbes made Somalia the most dangerous country in 2009). The ban also includes no foreign news broadcasts, especially broadcasts from the BBC and the Voice of America.

This is the most vivid quote in the entire article: "We are really losing all hope of life,” said Hashi Abdullahi, who said he liked to listen to music. The insurgents have “punished our life with bullets, and today they are punishing us with a ban on all types of music.”

I think this is vivid because it paints a brutal picture of a civilian in Somalia. Its amazing that music was actually helping to lift the spirits of some of the Somalians, and with this ban, I look at this quote and see a man who is utterly helpless to do anything in his country. He can't leave, he can't do what he wants, he lives in constant fear. This man is not living, he is merely existing.

The point of all of this is to say how glad I am that I live in a free country, and will want to work in one of many free countries when I'm done with school. The most fearful thing that I, a person interested in sports, has to worry about is probably whether or not I offend a sports star. Look at Don Imus, he offended an entire team and he didn't die for what he said!

Extremely interesting article, and really eye opening to the fragile state of some of the third world countries in the world. Somalia gets a lot of publicity because of the pirates, but just imagine what some of these other countries that don't have the publicity that an Iran, Iraq(3), Afghanistan(2), Somalia(1), and Cuba have had. What do you know about the Democratic Republic of Congo(4), Sri Lanka(7), Yemen(8), etc...

*(the number next to the country is where Forbes ranks them on the most dangerous country)

Reaction to Making Waves

By Brandon Kisker

Mark Ramsey brings up some very interesting points in the first 48 pages, and I think a lot of what he says is very true, but there are some things that I'm not so sure about, so I'm going to go a little bit more in depth with some reactions to the text.

The very first chapter is about choices, and about how Ramsey believes too many is actually a bad thing. He says the consumer spends more time surfing then they do consuming. He says Satellite radio, which offers hundreds of options, is actually worse for consumers than less choices, but I disagree. I think one thing Ramsey doesn't take into account is how similar choices actually are. Take the radio dial here in Cincy for example, I think we are about 80% rock, 10% Pop, 5% hip-hop and R&B, and 5% talk/sports. Think of how many other genres aren't represented in Cincy Radio. For example, I'm a huge HUGE HUGE reggae fan...but there isn't a single station that plays just reggae, or even reggae and world music. Instead I'm inundated with the same rock music on every station. I distinctly remember working for an installation company after I graduated high school, and hearing "Crazy Bitch" by Buckcherry on 6 different stations at the same time. How is that defined as a choice?

That's why I'm a HUGE fan of satellite radio. I love the choices you have, and it's not surfing that is the problem. I think most people will find about 10 channels they like, and if something comes on you don't want to listen to, or want to listen to something else, its just a matter of pushing a button. Plus listening to satellite gives you a number of options per genre. If you like rock, you can listen to current, adult alternative, hairbands, 90's rock, deep tracks, etc.... and on regular radio, you have "Crazy Bitch" on each station at the same time. That isn't variety or choice.

Another thing I found interesting was Ramsey's conversation with "Branding Diva" author Karen Post to discuss branding radio stations. She says one must understand why you are here, are you there to make money, educate people, etc... She goes on to list a few other things about branding but that comment and that the personality is important really struck a cord with me. Take Bearcast for an example, and take the biggest character in Bearcast as an example.....do you know who I'm talking about? Of course you know, because he is so unique, so strange, so corny, that this particular host, is successful at reaching his audience, and ultimately fun to listen to, and he has a good sense of humour. I think there are a few people in Bearcast who are really good hosts, but I think that the Shrimp is the most prepared to succeed in the field. I say this because he is his own category. Sure there are things he has to work on to streamline his show a little better, but overall, if I was a person looking for a large personality, I'd certainly give him a look.

For a real life example, take a look at Dan Patrick. Dan has great cohosts (the Danette's) that he picks on all the time, and his ego (I think it's a put on) makes listeners really love him. Jim Rome is another example in sports talk, a large character, certainly a unique style, and his fans love him. If you aren't a fan though, you would certainly like listening to Dan more than Romey though. One of the best shows out there is a show called Petros and Money (PMS) and that show works really well because the hosts are funny and both really unique, but compliment each other well. If you have a host that stands out, I think it makes branding a hell of a lot easier.

The other comment was about why you are here, which I sat back and thought about for myself for a few minutes. It is an interesting question to say the least, however, I think it has more to do with passion rather than branding (though I concede that the two must be related in order to be successful). Why am I in Bearcast? Why do I host a hockey show? Why is the purpose of The Five Minute Major? I think the answer to that, is passion. I'm not passionate about radio in particular, I like many different mediums. I think it's an old school way of thinking of only being able to use one medium. Think artists....they typically specialized in one form, watercolours, pointillist, glass blowing, etc... I think its wrong to think "I want to be a DJ" or "I want to be on TV", why can't you do both? Maybe its a sports frame of mind, but I'm used to seeing Kornheiser, DP, Rome, Scott Van Pelt, Colin Cowherd, Steven A. Smith, etc... on radio and TV. Going back to those questions, I think I'm here because I'm passionate about sports. I'm particularly passionate about hockey, and I want to help revolutionize the game of hockey, and make it more accessible to everyone. People may not agree with this, and I understand I'm extremely biased, but in my opinion, it is the fastest, most exciting sport in the world that is the ultimate team game. Why it's not as popular in the southern states as it is in many places in the world befuddles me at this time, but I aim to try and help the game of hockey progress. Thats why I'm in radio, and that's why I'm in Bearcast.

As far as what radio can do to change, this is my take. I think satellite radio is the best form of radio because it offers so much variety, that everyone will find something they like. The problem doesn't lie in subscription fees, because people pay for digital cable, a very similar service for the TV, but I think it lies in the startup costs. You have to have things installed and parts installed in your car and blah blah blah.....sooner than you know, that $14 dollars a month turned into a $250 startup cost PLUS that $14 a month. If satellite aims to be the future of radio, than they need to really look into making it cheaper, and more readily available for more people to subscribe. Think of cable tv, all you need is a cable jack which I think is in all recent buildings and houses (maybe not the older houses). The book says that it's rarely about the price, but I 100% disagree. Sure value is super important, but even if something has value, if it is overpriced, people won't buy it. I was offered FREE Satellite radio for my birthday from my parents. I really wanted it because of the world music, sports talk, and of course the NHL! Problem was I needed more parts than what the guy at Best Buy told my dad. It would end up costing my parents $250 for the part needed for the radio. Even though Satellite had value to me, it didn't have $250 + $168/year value to me, so I told my parents I didn't want it anymore, based on the cost.

Bearcast Project Ideas:

-Speaking with local high school radio clubs about Emedia and Bearcast

-Improving the Sports Dept (equipment, way to call football, promotion, lexy, everything)