Media´s effect on Players

As much as players do not admit the impact the media has on them, media will always be an important part of their career. The Media is everywhere, always asking the tough questions and asking them over and over, attempting to get something juicy from them. And once you win, more will come, and as you move to bigger and bigger stages, such as the NCAA Tournament, they start to swarm like little bees.

The style of game changes with the media. The players can be playing hard, listening to coaches, ect., but once that camera goes on, they just bring it to a new level. We always joke about how Darius starts to make these ridiculously good plays every time the Big Ten Network hit series “The Journey” shows up for practice. We all laugh about it, as does Darius. But its true. Darius make ridiculous passes, Jordan springs in the air like he was Carlos Boozer, and Tim hits every three he takes.

The media is always going to blow everything up. Coach Beilein always reminds them that their actions can ruin them if they are not careful. It doesn’t matter if some guy gets hit with a DUI, but if a young basketball player from Michigan gets one, it is all over the paper and he will never stop hearing about it. If he is not careful and sleeps with a drunk sorority girl, he could end up being accused and end up in court. There are so many things that the smart basketball player needs to be aware of.

Going to the NCAA Tournament and playing an old rival, the #1 seed Duke, only fueled the fire. Last weekend ESPN had a special on the Fab Five, and Jalen Rose made a comment on how the Duke program would never recruit a kid like him, but only went for the “Uncle Toms.” Before the special even showed, the phrase exploded all over the news and media boards. Now that we were matched up against them, all the questions to the players were how these comments would affect them. The players were told to make as little comment as possible and make it seem like it was not of any importance. They did mention how it would be a great opportunity to revive the rivalry. They looked forward to competing with the defending national champions and “shock the world,” a tribute to Howard´s line in the documentary.




The most difficult thing for any player to do is confront his mistakes or his shortcomings. After we lost to Duke, no one wanted to talk to the media. But Coach told them how important it was that they talk to them. A few games ago we played Wisconsin and had a horrific loss to a 3-point buzzer-beater. Some of the players hid in the fan room away from the media. Coach Beilein will have none of that. Coach Alexander told them to keep their chin up, to be proud of how they did, and to be Michigan. It was heartbreaking to watch as Darius dried up the tears and stopped pacing once the reporters came in. Then they cornered him and bathed him with voice recorders and camera beams. The same questions came every 2 minutes…”Did you think the shot was good? Take us through the final seconds.” And every time he would look down and say his response quickly, as to avoid the feelings attached to that unforgettable moment. Jordan Morgan, usually standing talk and ready to give his say to the media was sitting inside his locker, with his hand covering his eyes as he recounted the last play, from Smith´s missed free throw to the rebound to the fast break to Darius´ perfect opportunity to send the game into overtime. Stewart mentioned how he thought the shot was going in and raised his hands in celebration until he saw the ball bounce out. Coach Beilein praised the players for a fantastic year and praised the very talented Blue Devil team. He stressed that we were in a win-win situation, and even though we didn’t beat Duke, we still came out a victory with the amount of accomplishment we had over the expectations.
The media is extremely important. It fuels controversies and tells stories. The Fab Five special placed significant importance in the Michigan-Duke rematch. The cameras flashing and the reel recording, along with millions watching made every player go their hardest. The game was the highest viewed game of the tournament thus far, with a 6.9 rating. And once the ball bounced off the far iron, the hardest part followed: confronting our failure and telling about it, over and over again.

Wig Top Gear Video...Hilarious

Alright folks, so you have had a bad day and are tired and you just want to sit down and do nothing...correction, you want to watch this video. Why? Because Top Gear did a fantastic job of educating and entertaining in this clip, a true hallmark of every non-fiction show who seeks loyal fans. This is great, really great. So if you have had a rough day or you just want something to take your mind off of something, check out the brilliance of this clip. YOu never know...the topic could have been made with you in mind (looking at my dad hahaha)...enjoy

if you double click on the window it will go to full screen...escape by pushing the "esc" button

2011 Superbowl TV Ads - BEST & WORST

Whats the best part about the superbowl? What do people watch for the most? Ever since 7th grade I remember talking about the significance of superbowl ads. So every year I have watched them in anticipation of the best ads. Everyone has different tastes and sometimes you want funny ones and sometimes you want serious ones and sometimes you want your kids not to see them at all. What are my favorites and why? Lets do it...

1. Chrysler 200 Series

Why...why try to revive the past. Why try to bring back what once was. Why let the druggie rap artist represent the city. Why go back to the Fox Theatre and relive the soul of a soulless town. Why show the city that the nation and the world has forgotten, and never wants to remember? Because there is where America started. That is where autos changed the world. That is where production would never be the same. That is where the good times started for America, when the lights and the music rolled and the cruisin and chillen was what life was about. And it all vanished. But has it really? Thats not what Chrysler thinks. Thats not what they want you to think. And that is what they want the world to know -- Chrysler, and the good times full of music and friends and lively atmosphere. Eminem comes rolling in, driving through the epic background, the shadow of a great city. "Its the hottest fires that makes the hardest steel." Work. Conviction. Thats who we are, our story. What we are capable of. Wear its from as who its for. We are from America. Not just any American City. Not just a city that makes a few things. And not just a city. "This is THE Motor City...and this is what we do"...The Motor Capital of the World. And Chrysler presence the 200. The most famous Detroit Artist, the most famous Detroit icons, and the most famous Detroit production all tied together. Sure, its for an auto company. Sure its for a new car series. Buts its about Detroit, the city people have never been to but "know" what goes on in Detroit, "knows" that it is runned by greedy young mayors and "know" that Detroit is the armpit of America. Sure the ad doesnt show all the hardships that exist in the city, but it insipires and tells the story of a city that is striving to live on. Of a city ready to return to the Glory. Of a city that is America, and is the Motor City everyone once knew. I applause the producers. What a message.


2. Coca-cola Border

...no words, no flashy effects, nothing but two old South American guards strictly sticking to the protocol. One opens a coke, and savors the amazing cold blend of carbonated flavors under the hot sun. The other looks on in astonishment, bewilderment, and pure jealousy. He wants one. He wants to get the experience. He wants to feel what it feels like to have that. He doesnt know what "that" is, but he knows there is something there. And under the circumstances, not a word or a look is permissible to be shared to the enemy. But fortunately, the now happy guard feels compassion, opens his mini ice cooler and pulls out another bottle of happiness. They both look to the left and to the right, knowing that crossing that line would be treason, and under all difficulties they secretly adjust the boarder line, pass the coke, and then share that one moment of connection, of excitement, of refreshment, and of happiness. For one moment those opposing enemy guards were friends, brothers, compadres -- they were family. And the next moment they relined the boarder and lived on in their bitter duty under the sun. What a beautiful ad...the circumstances, the foreign guards, the all important line in the sand, the facial expressions, and that one moment of pure joy, where everything is forgotten, all pain sorry and hate, and in that moment, peace and happiness takes over. That is what is beautiful about this commercial. Its about sharing the wonder, the magic that Coca-cola can offer.

3. Darth Vader

Pure Brilliance. Epic, really. A child sized darth vader going about the house, finding failure after failure. Perhaps he should have stayed under Obi-wan a little longer. Never the less, after moments of dis pare and misery, the child Vader finds one more challenge, his fathers Volkswagen that just pulled up. He quickly runs over, puts out his hands, and lets his energy flow and flow and flow...waiting...expecting...hoping...about to lose hope...and then, the engine thunders to life. It lives! It obeyed his commands! After a full day of failure, finally he gets it! Or does he...as he turns around to look around him, confirming that there was no other source besides his power. And there is the good father standing with his wife, grinning, knowing that he brightened up his son´s day, fulfilling the quota of the mini Darth Vader. This ad was exceptional. It captured emotion, it captured attention, and it gave everyone that smile. The Imperial March commanded everyone´s attention, a hook that is so ingrained into our culture it is unmistakable. The suit of the sith lord, the deep breathing and the cape fluttering in the air, all bring back memories of the silver screen. And those little white hands that emerge under the dark outfit bring us all back to the day when life was simple and your only concern was to be happy and have fun. We all became children for a moment, joining our favorite villain in his adventure. And we feel his pain, we feel it every time when his hands drop and his solders roll down. You feel bad for him, you almost want to pat him on the back and tell him to try again. And then the father becomes the real hero, giving our little villain the satisfaction that is so sweet, it leaves us satisfied as well. Pure genius. Sure I put this at 3, but it could easily be put at 2 or 1, it was that good. So good, its almost scary, almost as scary as how Max looks like Skywalker...coincidence? I think not.


WORST....

3. E-Trade Tailor

Why is it bad? Simple. Because those incredibly smart trading babies were hilarious. This one starts and everyone expects something remarkable...and instead we are given some lousy story of a tailor. Really? We all had high expectations and wanted to laugh, our mouths waiting in the open position, but in the end we had to close our mouths with an "eeeehhh"...disappointment fills the air.

2. Snickers

Why? Same deal. After Betty White stole the superbowl last year, we all needed something to top it. And this ad miserably failed. I had no idea for the first half were this woodcutting was leading. I thought it was some dirty Allstate mayhem man complaining about woodcutting. Then the snickers. Then the grizzly man. The only funny part was the lady getting close-lined by the large log but by then you were already disappointed.

1. Motarola Tablet

What is going on here. And who cares. People with white hooded clokes (KKK anyone) and earbuds in their ears, shut off from thw world and some random dude has a motarola tablet that frees him from this prison and lets him be creative and give firtual flowers to a cute girl. Who cares...really...no one does...terrible commercial, and its so bad I feel like I shouldnt have brought it up. Because this commercial deserves to be forgotten. And instead it will live on in PinedoMediaBlog. What a shame. What an injustice.

MIke and Mike on ESPN Radio

To compare the John Beilein show that my class was able to listen in a few weeks ago, I listed to Mike and Mike today on ESPN from 9:30-10am.

The first thing I notice is the mere Speed of the program. They try to pack as much information, topics and interviews into the show as possible. They fly through everything, so although they dont go into the depth that the John Beilein show did. They keep your attention with different leagues, teams and players. Perhaps they hope that at least one thing will catch your attention, perhaps they are seeking to satisfy a large, national audience. I felt that the commercials were few but long in length and every time they had someone else with them ready to roll.

The level of questions were not as personal or conversational as the John Beilein show, it was more like an interview, like a journalist interviewing the person. It was not a FDR fireside chat and it was no 60 minutes. It was a “we have a list of 5 questions that we need to ask in 5 minutes so lets get through it.” For some this volume of information will be attractive, to get to know as many things in a short period of time. For example, they speak of the NFL lockout and how that will impact new quarterbacks, such as Derek Anderson from the Arizona Cardinals. They Spoke of the Steelers and how if they win their 3rd in 6 years they can put in the dynasty talk. And they spoke of the difficulty of Polamalu for receivers.

I found it interesting how they promoted certain Brands right before commercial breaks. When they interviewed Larry Fitzgerald from the Arizona Cardinals, it was neat to hear them promote “Here for Good,” an organization who does elementary school library makeovers and they had just complete done in Dallas and Larry was going to be there. They asked him how the kids usually welcome NFL stars like himself and he said they are always so excited to see the players in person. After the thrill they start comparing the players to NFL greats or to their local team like the Cowboy right in front of the players themselves. So Larry always gets a Kick out of that when he hears them. For anyone wondering, Larry Fitzgerald calls the Steelers to win the game in a low scoring match.

Mike and Mike was defiantly different than the John Beilein show, but the differences make sense. John Beilein show is concentrated for a very specific segment of the population:

1) local radio listeners who are 2) Michigan fans and 3) who follow Michigan Basketball.

Mike and Mike are:

1) national radio listeners who are 2) sport fans who 3) have all different types of sport and league interests.

Because of this narrow and general audience segmentation, the John Beilein show can be more intimate, almost like you were hearing Coach Beilein talking to you personally, where as Mike and Mike is like a TV news interview -- you get what you get. Its just a rapid amount of news like CNN just flying through the stands, one lined up alter the other. Which one do I prefer? I am not sure because when I listen I am always doing something on the move. John Beilein show is more thorough but Mike and Mike gets through more topics, so you cant really go wrong. As long as I can download them as podcasts and listen to them on demand, I am a happy fan.

Michigan Managers Video Special

This video that I produced was made for a manager video competition. I think yall will benefit in seeing what exactly a Michigan Basketball Manager has to do. Its short and sweet and to the point. And yes I was so distracted during the video, thinking about how I was going to film the footage my amateur managers were taking. Luckily for me Jon was ready to speak. And I was ready to edit. There you go...

Leaders & Best Manager Video from Daniel Pinedo on Vimeo.

John Beilein Radio Show

Our Sports and the Media class was fortunate enough to sit in on the John Beilein Radio Show this past Wedsneday. We are learning how radio works and why radio is merely a shadow of what it once was. A big issue with radio is getting people to even listen, to be aware that a show of this nature even exists. Dr. Madej asked us to name the radio announcer for men´s basketball and only 4 people out of the class of 40 knew his name (my buddy, Matt Sheperd). In a world dominated by television and the ipod, how can old-school sports talk radio fit in to this on-demand world? These were things we as a class wanted to observe. For many it was a chance to see Coach Beilein up close and intimate, hearing him live on the air. But all of us had the opportunity to actively participate in the show, either by asking Coach Beilein a question on the team or how he coaches, or by just clapping at the beginning or ending of every segment.

So how does a small, half an hour show like John Beilein get attention? How do you bring more listeners to the table? How do you promote it and make it worth listening to? The Marketing Department here at Michigan, in my opinion, has to be one of the worst in the nation. Considering all the other Big Ten teams we are terrible. I remember traveling with the team to Lansing last year. Sure, I wanted to beat the Spartans with all my heart, but even though we were shattered in that game I could not help but to notice and even admire the atmosphere that Michigan State had to offer to its faithful. Again, traveling to Wisconsin was a mind-opener. I never thought a college program could have a game so exciting. And dont forget about Indiana, every timeout was the BIGGEST deal ever! Poor Michigan...we draw fans because we have the block M, because we win (we used to) and because we have a great fight song. Thats it. We have the same issue with JohnBeilein.com ...how do we make people aware and how do we get them to come back over and over again?

Radio is tricky. There are no faces, there are no expressions -- only what you know from TV. People know the basketball team and they know Coach Beilein. The radio team needs to bring to the table things that interest the consumer. How did they do that last night? They asked questions that the normal listener would ask. Such as...
>How do you deal with a team that has lost five in a row? What do you tell them?
>Why was it that Indiana, a team at the bottom of the Big Ten, was able to win with such a bang?
>How did Shurna hit every shot he took in the first half?
>How late did yall get back from Northwestern? 3:30? How do the players as students deal with that? Did they go to class?
>What will you address at your next practice?
>How important is motivation at this level?
All these questions are things every person would ask. The advantage here is that Coach Beilein can explain and elaborate, almost on an intimate level, as if you and him were on the phone together talking about the team. He is accessible, he is within reach, and he is there to answer the caller´s questions.

But is this enough? These are my thoughts and I will stick to them:
A) The show is well done. It has a good warm up with past Captain David Merrit and Coach Beilein has a very good interview personality. He is honest, he is upfront, and he is relaxed on the show.
B) The show is poorly promoted. As I said before, the Media Department as a whole is very weak and publicity for the radio show is no exception. Duke has a fantastic program with Coach K, which has thousands and thousands of listeners every time. Fans understand that listening to him is just as important to watching the games. Here at Michigan the mentality is different. Michigan is no Big Ten contender. It is no national championship contender. There is no ultra urgency. So why listen if the team really cant compete for some national spotlight? These are hard yet realistic issues. You can only do so much to make people aware of a show and you can only make the show so good for people to actually listen. But the reality of the matter is, unless the team is winning ball games and competative for a Big Ten title, then the team will have little relevance and importance in fan´s everday lives. This is the culture here at Michigan. Indiana has suffered the last few years in basketball, but I guarentee you that every seat was filled at Assembly Hall last Saturday, every person ready to cheer their team to their first conference victory. That is the culture. That is the cultural difference. It is sad but it is the truth. And as I sat there on the corner of the room at Pizza House, listening to the man I see and work with every day for hours and hours, I realize that this program has so much potential, but it just isnt there. So much work needs to be done, and I have full confidence in Coach Beilein to make this a fantastic basketball program. But he cant change the culture alone. With the additions of David Brandon and Brady Hoke, hopefully both the football and basketball programs can turn things around and make this once lively college town into sports heaven once again. Go Blue

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Coach Beilein at an empty Assembly Hall during walkthrough.
Michigan, like Indiana, has a big challenge
in returning its program back to the top.

University of Texas lands TV deal with ESPN

Big news hit us this afternoon. According to ESPN, The University of Texas has made an agreement with ESPN to have their own 24-hour network. This channel will not only contain sporting events (uncluding an exlusive football game and 8 basketball games), but will feature "historical programming," academic events and other cultural events. It is an all Burnt Orange channel. And while my buddies back home in South Texas are probably salivating at the distinction Texas has over all the other schools (Especially the Maize and Blue), the implications may become problematic.
First off, I don't believe Texas, or any school for that matter, deserves its own network. If they make one, every powerhouse from USC to Florida to Alabama to Michigan to Ohio State and perhaps even NC State would want their own channel. Any school that doesn't have its own channel will not be in that elite level. You thought amazing practicing facilities is what kept the top programs? Think again...it will soon be having your own TV Network. And although it will be nice and dandy with cultural shows and lectures of the human anatomy and other educational information, the mere fact that this school can show itself to the entire nation is just publicity in excess. There was a big cry when I came to Michigan as a Freshman about how the Big Ten Network was ridiculous, how it would be too exclusive to households that didn't have Comcast and how they were stealing games that should be public and how they would fill up all the time slots. But after a few years, people gained access and BTN started to bloom and the next thing you know, every conference starts to talk about having its own network. Not Texas, no, they were thinking far beyond that.

Sure, maybe you could say I am jealous. But I am not. I think this is beyond what a school should be concerning itself over. University are academic institutions. Sure, sports have been forever argued that they do not belong in this academic setting. That debate is for another post on another blog. But the amount of attention and staff required to not only create and maintain a network, but to make one good, will take so much energy and resources and attention from where it should be placed: Learning.

Sure, students will have the amazing opportunity to work with such a national network setting, but the this network craze has the possibility of becoming a daunting fad, and when people thought sports were too much about money and business, television will take to a whole new level.