Our ESPN personalities have given me much enjoyment throughout the course of my life, so much so that I can recognize the voice of who is talking when I am in a different room. Their voices give me comfort, happiness, and hope that things will go on as usual regardless of the adversity we are presented with. They are the voices of optimism. They find the good in most situations they have to report on. These professionals have taught me to not take life too seriously, especially when at work.

In the video above the ESPN personalities provide us with play-by-play commentary to amateur sports videos who feature children of all ages performing “incredible” sports feats. This video came about right around the time when America began shutting down due to COVID-19. The video was used as an opportunity to entertain sports fans in a time without sports, as well as give the commentators an opportunity to practice their craft.

The first part of the video that I find enjoyable is the man doing “on-deck circle” tricks with a bat. He does things with that bat that I have never seen before, and he does it so smoothly that it seems that the bat is connected to him with a string. He should probably be part of the Dude Perfect squad. My girls love that show. Where do people find the time to practice these tricks, and what is the purpose of them? The tricks amuse me, but I don’t see the point of learning how to do them. He wins though, because “bat-guy” is on a viral video and I am not.

Then there are a few toddlers that pop up next showing off their basketball shooting accuracy that’s better than Steph Curry’s. These types of videos always amaze me. These little kids figure out how to make baskets on their own, and enjoy doing it until an adult steps in and ruins them. Think about it. Once we get technical with teaching a game to kids a majority start to lose some of the passion. If we would just let them play with very minimal guidelines they would figure it out, and may find a better way of playing the game than what the adults think is the right way. Hopefully I can be one of those parent/coaches that can get out of the kids’ way so that they can shine.

As the video goes on the commentary confirms what I already believed. Bill Walton is the most entertaining ESPN personality out there. Now I get the complaints and reasons why people don’t like listening to him call a basketball game. “He never even talks about basketball or the game.” These are somewhat accurate claims, and they make sense if you are a purest of the game. I coach basketball and love the game, but when I get home and turn a game on I do it for entertainment purposes. There are time when I want to learn, but I can do that with the game on mute in those situations. To me Bill Walton is commentator who can provide all types of fans entertainment on the mic.

I love the ESPN personalities video for many reasons. The voices of the commentators are comforting, optimistic, and happy. These personalities are showing us how to adapt and adjust during difficult situations, while still enjoying their job. I think that is important. I don’t think enough people love what they do. We need to stop working for the paycheck. Myself included. I know bills have to be paid, but we need to start taking back our time and need to start enjoying our lives. As the Grateful Dead have taught me, “Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.”

Josh Mach

Food For Thought:

1. Who are some of your favorite sports commentators/personalities?
2. Do you watch specific games just because of a commentator? (I do)
3. Do you have any memories of some of the greatest sports calls in history? For example – Al Michaels shouting, “Do you believe in miracles?”

Ever since March Madness cancelled, and the rest of the sports world shut took a hiatus I have been able to try some new things and find some new passions. I am a high school teacher and coach, so about the same time they called of the NCAA Men’s National Basketball Tournament we have been out of school. We still had to log hours at home, and worked with our students online the best we could. But this experience of working from home has given me more time to spend with my family, and to learn new things.

The first new passion of mine is being able to work with my daughters in learning new skills in the sports they enjoy. I never thought I wanted to coach my own kids, because I thought I would be too hard on them. I’m still not sure I want to coach them when I get older, but it has been fun “coaching” them for the time being. It amazes me at how fast young kids can pick up new skills. This experience has definitely had it’s low points. At times I have been too hard on the girls, because my expectations were unrealistic. It has been cool for me to study new ways of teaching the game of basketball to m girls. I want to incorporate the Canadian style with the European style of play into their game. I think this “unconventional” style in America can be an effective way to play the game.

Another passion that has emerged since are little “lock down” has been gardening. First of all, you get to be outside! You get to get your hands dirty, and you get to find out if you can grow your own food. Can you be self-sustaining on a smaller scale? It has been awesome to see the vegetables grow, and it has even better to eat them. How cool is it to grow and eat your own HEALTHY food? Plus, it’s like printing money. If you already eat vegetables you no longer have to buy them at the grocery store. At least for the Summer anyway. For me gardening has been great. I find myself caring for those plant just about as much as I care for my kids. Which may be insane, but oh well.

My final area in which I found new life has been through learning the guitar. I’m terrible. I’ve always loved music, but could never comprehend how people play it. I still don’t really get it. It has been great having a new challenge to struggle with. It’s like the first time I picked up a basketball. There is an attraction to it that can’t really be explained. Something keeps drawing you back. I enjoy getting out of my comfort zone. To me that is the only way to grow. I can pretty much guarantee that I will never play live music for anyone, but it has been great making noise in my basement.

The best thing about these new hobbies is that they don’t involve me playing or coaching sports. I know I am working with my girls, but I am parenting not coaching. It’s a way for me to spend more time with them, and that time is all about them. Gardening and playing guitar have nothing to do with my job as a coach, and in fact are great distractions from coaching. I hope to find more “new” challenges to pursue, but for the time being I will try to improve at the three talked about today.

Food for Thought:

1. What are some new hobbies or practices that you started since the pandemic began?
2. What are some positives that have come from Covid-19 for you?
3. Will this time off from sports allow you to find the passion you had for them as a kid again?

-Josh Mach

For basically my entire life (34 of my 37 years) I’ve been stuck in the Midwest bubble. We’re late on everything. Fashion trends, the latest popular music, and even the latest food trends. Heck, some of us will even be late for our own funerals. That’s probably a positive though. It hasn’t been all bad spending most of my time in South Dakota though. We get sheltered from a lot of the bad that is out there too. Even though I want someone to burst my Midwestern bubble I am grateful the NBA has created one for all of us. Since the NBA has decided to restart there season in a “bubble” I thought it would be fun to talk about many of the bubbles that have given us joy in our lives. Below is one of my senior pictures. 2001 was a hell of a year!

Don Ho loved his tiny bubbles. If those little bubbles made me a million dollars, I’m sure I would love them too. Hawaiian native, Don Ho was an entertainer for 50 years. He starred in his own television show, from 1976-77. Must have been a hit show? I know his hit song “Tiny Bubbles,” but that is the extent of it for me. People must have loved his entertainment. I was not one of them, but none the less he has a place in bubble history.

Who doesn’t love bubble wrap? Nothing like popping those bubbles when after opening a package, to get your parents fired up. Stress balls, forget it. Give me some bubble wrap and I will be breathing easy in five minutes. Bubble wrap came out in 1957, and was designed to be wallpaper. I thought the sixties were where the drug culture found its way. Anyway, someone came down off their buzz and figured out that bubble wrap as wallpaper was a ridiculous idea. Packaging material is where bubble wrap found its groove, and has been groovin’ for decades. Believe it or not, the inventors of the wrap were inducted into the Inventor’s Hall of Fame in 1993. Wild.

https://youtu.be/mGhE2G9ivPk

Then there is the bubble boy. The one I am talking about is the kid from Seinfeld. He was a jerk. Naturally George cause the bubble boy, Donald, to get so angry that in a fit of rage he attacks George popping the bubble. I can’t say whether or not this episode of Seinfeld was the inspiration for the Bubble Boy movie. I can say that as usual the episode was entertaining, and it provided a few laughs for us immature adults.

Finally there is the NBA bubble. The only one that really matters to me. Obviously Covid-19 has taken over our lives in ways a lot of us have never experienced before. Having to breath through masks when leaving our homes is a concept that never crossed my mind prior to this past March. As a high school teacher, working from never seemed plausible. Here we are though, our world turned upside down. Lucky for us Adam Silver and the rest of the NBA executives are problem solvers, and not problem creators. Of course there will be issues that arise in the bubble, players will probably get sick, and the NBA will probably be criticized for putting profits in front of players health. We need to be grateful for the proactive practices of the NBA. We are luckily they have the resources to test theories out regarding the virus. They will be able to provide us with legitimate information on what does and doesn’t work in the protection from Covid-19. I would be much more inclined to trust the finding of the NBA, than what we get from media sources like CNN and Fox News. According to a USA Today article, the NBA bubble at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex, in Orlando, has three broadcast courts and three practice courts available for the NBA teams. The teams will also be housed in the bubble, and the two teams that end up in the championship will get to enjoy that recycled air for a solid three months. The air isn’t recycled. That was a joke. No fans will be allowed at the games, and family and friends will not be permitted on the grounds for at least the first seven weeks. That will be the first round of the playoffs. All of the CDC recommendations and precautions will be followed closely. Even the Disney staff will be restricted to what their job duties will entail. For example, they will not be allowed to carry the Silver Spoon NBA player’s luggage into their rooms. Adam Silver stated that the NBA’s Covid risk management plan will be ever evolving, and they will follow the local, state, and national guidelines to help ensure the safety of all parties involved.

The NBA bubble is the best bubble in my life right now, and I hope that nothing will burst it! We need more sports back. We need to move forward in our lives, and not live in fear of what could happen. We may need to take precautions, but we need to live. Let’s hope for the best, while preparing for the worst!

Food For Thought:

1. Are you willing to live in a “bubble” for your occupation?
2. Should we just let sports go for now? Is the NBA bubble a giant waste of money?
3. Will the NBA actually finish their season?

-Josh Mach

With Covid-19 taking over our lives, we have had to make major adjustments in the way we live and interact with others, as well as how we spectate sporting events. Viewership of sports has changed for better or for worse. Like marriage, there have been ups and downs, positives and negatives. A few areas in which the viewing of sports and sports broadcasts have been morning talk shows being produced with multiple people all in separate locations, UFC fights with no fans, and professional golf without fans.

When viewing the morning sports talk shows like ESPN’s “GetUp!” or FS1’s “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” the anchor’s are either by themselves in a studio, or live on camera from their homes. In Colin Cowherd’s case, he record his show with just himself and a camera from a radio station. On GetUp!, Mike Greenberg filmed from his ESPN studio, while his co-anchors were on screen from their individual remote locations, most at the their homes. Greenberg believed that the show must go on. He wanted to give Americans an escape, even if it was only for 10 minutes. He also wanted to use his platform to promote the front-liners and everyday heroes during this uncertain time. So what have been the positives and negatives of this monumental format change.

Negatives first. The interruptions and lag times between comments of multiple individuals has been awkward. No one can figure out the timing of it all. This should pass with some practice. Maybe. Another negative factor seems to be less spontaneous debating over topics presented in the show. From my perspective, when a co-anchor is presented with a question from Greeny on GetUp! they simply give their response, and Greeny either asks another co-anchor their opinion or they just move on to the next topic. The show still works, but it lacks some of the excitement it once had. I believe the positives outweigh the negatives in this instance. For one, remote production of these sports programs have shown viewers that life will go on. Like Greenberg set out to do, these shows have given up hope, entertained us, and given us a chance to breathe, for a couple of minutes at least. These television productions have proven to the American people that we will not be held down, and we will push onward. Another advantage to these remote productions is the ability to include more and more personalities on the show. ESPN has been able to utilize all football experts when discussing football issues, and the same goes for all other sports discussed on GetUp!. This has improved the overall content provided to us, and has also made the content more credible. The show must go on!

Now for live sports. There have been a few professional sports leagues who have returned to live competition. The Korean Baseball League, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and the Professional Golf Association (PGA) have provided sports fans with some regular entertainment as of late. No live fans have been allowed at any of these live competitions. From a spectators viewpoint, I believe there has been a balance of contrary forces.

Again negatives first. You can definitely notice a lack of energy surrounding the events. It seems like the athletes are involved in a televised practice. Watching a fighter get knocked out, or a golfer hitting the perfect shot to change the outcome of a tournament is what fans crave with these particular live sports. And sometimes the fans reactions can drive the athletes to perform at a level they have never previously reached. Energy is palpable at live sporting events. It impacts the sport on a very significant level. With the lack of fan energy, I think we will find out which of our favorite professional athletes actually love what they are doing and which ones are collecting a paycheck. Just so you know, I don’t care why the athletes are playing the came. I’m just glad I get to watch it. The other obvious negatives revolve around money. Loss of ticket sales, concession sales, and other game day money makers may have a serious negative affect on the professional organizations. With less revenue available are players contracts eventually going to decrease? Or our we going to get bask to regular action before those drastic measures have to take place? I don’t know, but I hope we get back to the action by the 2020 NFL season. These next couple of Summer months are going to dictate the not-so-distant future.

I have got to say that no “cheeks in the seats” has been a positive for the sports that are currently competing live. Especially for the UFC. Dana White, President of the UFC, stated that even without fans in attendance they were able to put on a great show, but that it was definitely different. If you haven’t watched a live fight night lately you are missing out! You can hear every kick and punch land, and the force behind the strikes are picked up by every microphone. For the first time fans can really get an understanding of just how debilitating the strikes are. With fans in the stands it’s much more difficult to comprehend the impact of each connection. The fans and fighters also get to hear exactly what the coaches are saying to their fighters. Obviously, this is beneficial for the fighters to better communicate with their corners, but it also gives the fans a “behind the scenes” that would have never been available to us without the pandemic. For the professional golfers, they have been able to play distraction free rounds. Their caddies can focus on the round as well, rather than having to deal with obnoxious fans.

Professional live sports have changed, at least for the time being. We need to embrace the change and appreciate the opportunity to watch them live again. For the time being I am all in on “sans cheeks in the seats.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQdZ4hqGCVU

Food for Further Thought:

1. What are some other negatives that you see with remote broadcasting of sports television shows?
2. Are there any professional sports that you believe shouldn’t have live fans ever again?
3. What is your opinion of how live sports has evolved to today’s regulations? More positives, or more negatives?

-Josh Mach

This post will will discuss my evaluation of the pac-12.com website. The areas in which the website will be evaluated include: ease of accessibility, ease of navigation, use of interactivity, use of video, and quality of content.

Ease of Accessibility

When looking at accessibility of the Pac-12 Conference website, I was looking for the website to provide tools and technologies that would allow all people, young, old, inexperienced internet users, and users with disabilities to access the content they are looking for. On the pac-12.com website users are able to access articles, videos, and the latest up-to-date news pertaining to athletics in the conference. They can easily narrow their search down to and individual player on any team that is a member of the Pac-12.

Some issues arise when looking at the accessibility for all peoples on this website. First, I was unable to figure out how to get closed captioning on any of the videos that were on the website. A script from the video was also not available. If you were hard of hearing you would just be able to watch the video and not get the entire content of the information. Second, there is not a voice command option on the website. Like most smart TV’s today, you are able to use your voice to get to a show or movie that you would like to watch. That option is not available for those you are unable to type or navigate a mouse when on the website. For “most” users you have the ability to perceive, understand, and navigate the Pac-12 Conference website. However, it lacks the accessibility of interacting with the site. There isn’t a place where a user can leave comments, or ask questions/communicate with someone behind the website. This seems appropriate, because of the type of website it is. It hosts an entire conference of colleges and teams, rather than one individual college or team. It may help the conferences brand if they would provide some sort of interactive capability with its users though.

The Pac-12 website does have a link that provides you contact information if you are having accessibility issues with the site. It is located in the footer of the website.

Ease of Navigation

The ease of navigation for a website may be the most important aspect to consider when trying to provide a successful website. If users are unable to get to where they want to go, frustration will set in. They will find their information elsewhere. Making sure all of your pages work, having a navigation bar, a side bar, search bar, and a footer for starters.

For this category the Pac-12 website seems to meet all of the criteria of easy navigation. The visual aesthetics do not get in the way of the ease of navigation of the Pac-12 website. The website contains a navigation bar, side bar, search bar, and footer that allows users to access everything Pac-12 related. Near the footer is an area to sign up to receive emails that provide fans with up-to-date news pertaining to the conference. They also have a link to click on which allows you to download the Pac-12 app to your smart phone. The swiftness of getting from page to page is also a great feature that this website contains. Everything loads quickly, and when you push the back button it takes you back the exact spot you were prior. Unlike some websites that return you to the top of the page when you hit the back button. That may be one of my biggest pet peeves when on a site.

Use of Interactivity

Use of interactivity means that users are able to communicate or interact with the people behind the website. If a website has this ability it will allow users to pose questions or leave comments/replies to the people running the site. This allows the website to be more entertaining, and possibly a more effective and efficient way to interact with their patrons.

The Pac-12 site does not provide this service to its users. As stated above, you may sign up for email alerts, and download the app on your smartphone, but actually communicating with others on the site is not available. This is an oversight in my opinion, because the Pac-12 conference is missing an opportunity to connect with their fans on a personal level.

Use of Video

The use of videos on your site have become vital in staying current and successful in the website game. In a world where we require instant gratification, videos have overtaken reading. YouTube has proven that time and again. How many time have you “YouTubed” something to figure out how to complete a task? Videos are fast and convenient, keep viewers interested, and keep patrons on your site longer.

Pac-12.com utilizes videos throughout most pages on their website. That’s what the majority of sports fans want. We want to see the highlights, we don’t want to read about them. We want to watch the press conference so we can make our own assumptions about the player of coach said, rather than read about someones opinion on the comments made. They do need to utilize closed captioning or provide a script of what was said on the video to reach more users.

Quality of Content

According to Larry Kim, quality of content on a website is defined by whether or not it achieves your goals. These goals could be driving traffic, Google search rankings, engagement, or conversations. Some might also say that quality content is current, honest, factual, and relevant to its viewers.

The Pac-12 website displays most of those characteristics listed above. The sites information is factual and unbiased, current, and allows the viewers find the content they are looking for. The fact that the site lacks conversational engagement with its patrons may be due to the stiffness that the NCAA “suits” exhibit. It is a professional website after all, so it is somewhat understandable that it does not allow that immediate conversation with its users. That is one aspect, in my opinion, that makes the site more credible in providing honest and factual information. With an overwhelming amount of fake news out there, it is comforting to know that there are still professional sites like this out there. I believe the content on the Pac-12 site is of the highest quality.

Thoughts

As I evaluated pac-12.com, I did so from a couple of different lenses. The first was as a fan of the Pac-12 conference. There is no other site I would visit to find out factual information regarding current news or updates on a team in the conference. If I was looking for entertainment, humor, or rumors about recruits or coaching changes, I would look elsewhere. The second lens I peered through was as a high school special education teacher. For the general population the site was perfect. For those with debilitating disabilities, some improvements can be made. With the advanced technology that is available I cannot understand why “voice command” is not available on websites. Maybe it is just too expensive to provide. The other aspect of the site that bothered me was not being able to use closed captioning on the videos. It just doesn’t make sense to me. Seems like an easy fix. We need to be able to provide more opportunities for all peoples to access information that they are interested in. All in all, the site is very well done.

Questions:

1. Besides “voice command,” what other types of technology would allow for better website navigation?
2. Do you think it is appropriate for a professional website like pac-12.com to provide opportunities to communicate or leave replies and comments on their site?
3. Should conference sites provide more behind the scenes content for its fans?

I saw a tweet by ICE T on my timeline from a yesterday that said, ” Trust me…If we didn’t have cameras…This would ALL be denied.” I’m sure you understand what ICE T is referring to. I believe there is a lot of truth to his statement, and it really made me think deeper into everything that has impacted this 2020 year. I’m grateful for the ability to receive up-to-date live information whenever I want or need to. This is especially true when it comes to the things our country is dealing with right now. With this ability to get information instantly it becomes very important to find credible sources, because if we don’t we could find ourselves in a civil war. I would much rather find ourselves part of a revolution that moves our people in this country forward, beyond racism. No doubt social media has its drawbacks, but if used correctly it can have a positive impact on everyone of us. And it has, otherwise we wouldn’t keep going back.

Social media has had a major impact on the sporting world, and I believe that impact is largely positive. Social media has allowed us as fans to get to know our favorite athletes on a more personal level without ever having to meet them. We get to see what they eat, the way they train, what they like to do away from their sport, and possibly even have a back and forth conversation with them. How cool is that? Definitely opportunities are parents never had.

For the athletes they have an opportunity to build their brand. This seems to be very popular among the major high school athletes who post their final 5 schools on Twitter before making a decision on where to pay in college. As for professional athletes, social media platforms allow them to connect with their fans, and even speak out on sensitive topics that affect our country. I think this is important, because at least in my world athletes are some of the most influential people in regards to progressing change. Also, those athletes that can build a large positive following through social media have the ability to generate large contracts through sponsors.

For sport organizations, social media has become a very fiscal way to market their brand. If they can hire an employee who is very good at manipulating social media platforms, us as consumers can be hypnotized by these organizations. With the ability to communicate with our favorite organizations it makes feel like we are more a part of the team than ever before. When they can reel us in like this we will be fans forever.

Obviously, if used incorrectly social media can turn into the proverbial dumpster fire. Negative actions, negative comments, or comments taken the wrong way (just ask Drew Brees) can have lasting negative effects. This is why college athletes and professional rookies get trained on the appropriate ways to use social media.

Chenghao Ma believes that social media is the most important tool that sport organizations and athletes can use today to promote their brand. I have a hard time disagreeing with him on this.

Have you found similar advantages through the use of social media in your everyday life? If so, what was your strategy to advancing your brand when you don’t have the same publicity as a high profile athlete?

-Josh

Just to make sure you haven’t heard enough about Covid-19 over the last few months, I wanted to ask the coaches and educators of the class what their thoughts are about the return to sports and school. Is it feasible to start the 2020-2021 school year like any other school year? In my case that would be opening up the high school doors to roughly 1,500 students. Will there be fall sports on any level, high school, college, or professional? A few days or weeks ago (who can really tell anymore) I was watching GetUp on ESPN and they were discussing college football and what it could look like this coming fall following the CDC guidelines. A reporter stated that if a player on a team tested positive for Covid-19, on lets say a Wednesday, the entire team would not be able to play on Saturday. If this is a policy the NCAA or the Power 5 conferences are going to put in place, what’s the point of the season? Are colleges going to be honest about all of their testing? Money tends to make people do some very immoral things, especially in college athletics.

Sports have been my entire life, and like most if not all of you, I miss the live action. But is this break from live sports all that bad? Is this what we needed to really appreciate what sports represent in our lives? We are all well aware that sports represent much more than entertainment, or an escape from our reality for a few hours. They unite us, motivate us, inspire us, and give us hope. This sports deprivation period, much like our technology deprivation experiment, will hopefully renew our childhood passion for games that can change the world!

Food for thought.

-Josh