'Roids or 'Noids

OR



Two weeks ago, when the story broke that Alex Rodriguez took steroids, no one seemed to be too surprised. Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Miguel Tejada, Mark McGwire, and Rafael Palmeiro all allegedly took steroids. Jose Canseco, Andy Pettite and Jason Giambi, among others, admitted to using steroids. After Sports Illustrated reporters made it public that A-Fraud…excuse me…I mean A-Rod took steroids, it was really no surprise that he admitted this. Why? Because he doesn’t want to go to jail. Clemens, Bonds, and Tejada could all be facing prosecution for lying to grand juries. Naturally, Rodriguez saw this as the wrong way to go and decided to come “clean.”

At a February 17th press conference at the New York Yankees spring training facility in Tampa, A-Rod said that from 2001 to 2003, his “cousin” Yuri Sacart injected him with an over-the-counter substance from the Dominican Republic. However, after saying this, it has been speculated that the substance was, and still is actually illegal in the DR and that Sacart is not even Rodriguez’s cousin.

A-Rod has also admitted to training with Angel Presinal, a known steroids dealer who has been banned from all major league clubhouses. A-Rod says that he hasn’t trained with Presinal since 2003, the last year that he supposedly took steroids, but reports have linked A-Rod and Presinal together as recently as 2007. According to the New York Post, Rodriguez said, "I knew we weren't taking Tic Tacs. I knew what we were taking was potentially something that perhaps was wrong.” He then clarifies this by saying, “I didn't think they were steroids. That's part of being young and stupid. It was over the counter, it was pretty basic, and it was really amateur hour." (1) He also said that his best years came before and after his three steroid seasons, although he was voted American League MVP in 2002. He also feels that he should still be voted into the Hall of Fame based on his non-steroid years. Yeah…good luck with that, Alex!

Didn’t think they were steroids? Yeah right. Over the counter? Apparently not. Instead of owning up to his mistakes, A-Rod is just further shading the truth. He admitted to using steroids, so he “admitted” his mistake. However, he isn’t owning up to it. Not owning up to it is almost as bad as denying it. Obviously Rodriguez was aware of what steroids were capable of, and obviously he saw the same effects in his body after injecting the drugs.

On the flip side, another famous athlete recently admitted to drug use. What was he or she doing? Cocaine, speed, ecstasy, steroids? No, not at all. In contrast to A-Rod, Michael Phelps was “caught” smoking pot. Yeah…marijuana, a drug that grows in the dirt and a drug that is arguably safer than alcohol. A drug that does have some negative consequences, like the possibility of causing lung cancer, slowing down one’s reaction time (which is bad while driving), and giving someone the “munchies.” However, marijuana doesn’t make a guy’s testicles shrink and give people an insanely high amount of testosterone.

When the photograph of Phelps smoking a bong at a University of South Carolina party came out, Phelps, who won 8 gold medals while swimming at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, admitted his mistake. According to CNN, Phelps said, “I'm 23 years old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me, For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public -- it will not happen again." (2)

What is different between this apology and A-Rod’s? Phelps owned up to his mistkake. He admitted that what he did was wrong and that it was his own fault. He could have lied and said he was smoking tobacco out of the bong, or said that he was just posing with it for photography’s sake, but he didn’t. He chose to do the honorable thing and admit that he was wrong. Phelps lost sponsors and was suspended for three months as a result of his confession, but Phelps did the right thing.

Phelps’ biggest mistake was allowing the photograph to be taken. What he does at a private party is his business. However, he allowed the photographer to make it the world’s business. Phelps’ DUI conviction 4 years ago was arguably much worse than him smoking marijuana. Drunk driving routinely kills people, while marijuana does not.

If the shoe was on the other foot, if Phelps admitted to taking steroids during the Olympics, and A-Rod admitted to hitting a bong, things would be very different. Not only would Phelps be disgraced and stripped of his medals, he would be banned from organized swimming forever. The United States, as a whole, would also be disgraced at having the most decorated Olympic athlete in its history de-medaled. Nothing would happen to A-Rod. He would maybe look stupid or immature, but nothing else would happen.

Fortunately for Phelps, the shoe is not on the other foot. Phelps’ mistake will eventually be forgiven, and he will go on to dominate the next one or two Summer Olympic Games. A-Rod’s legacy, on the other hand, is tarnsihed. Rodriguez will not be voted into the Hall of Fame and people will no longer see him in the same, awestruck light. If this were swimming, he would be banned, but not in baseball. No, in baseball you get banned from the game for life for betting on your own team, but you get a slap on the wrist, or nothing at all, for using intravaneous drugs that noticably improve your athletic performance.

Sources:
1.http://www.nypost.com/seven/02172009/sports/yankees/a_rod_press_conference_155638.htm
2. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/01/michael.phelps.marijuana/

Future journalists of the world

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a simple enough question that we are all asked at some point during childhood. Some people decided their future career choice at a young age, while others enter college still unsure of what they want to do with their lives. This holds true for journalists as well. For whatever reason, each prospective journalist has his or her own unique reason for wanting to get into the business.

As long as I can remember, I have enjoyed writing. Throughout grade school and high school, my teachers consistently praised my writing as well. Senior year of high school, I took a class writing for my school paper. I really enjoyed the world of journalism and decided that I could see myself writing for a living. I entered college the following year. I had wanted to go to law school from an early age, and initially majored in political science just like me uncle, who is now a judge. After a few quarters of poli-sci and a few News Record articles, I decided that journalism would be a more viable career option if I failed to make it as a lawyer. So, now I am a few quarters away from graduation, still unsure about attending law school, but definitely sure that I chose the right major.

I have always loved sports and have been reading Sports Illustrated and the Cincinnati Enquirer for years. My dream job would be as a writer for SI. I would also love to write for ESPN The Magazine, The Sporting News, The Cincinnati Enquirer, the Los Angeles Times, or Amusement Today. I figure that if I do go through with law school, I could occasionally freelance for a newspaper or magazine.

With the current economic recession and the transition from paper to Internet news, I am somewhat worried about my job prospects after graduation, which right now is looking like March 2010. I believe that there will always be journalism jobs available, but they won’t be where I want and for what I want. I’m worried that the only job I’ll be able to get is covering some minor league baseball team in South Dakota or being a news reporter in Smalltownsville, Nebraska. This would be in stark contrast to my dream of working in a big city (like Cincinnati, New York, or LA) and writing for a widely read publication or covering a major league sports team. These are of course just my opinions on being a journalist.

I sent out listserv e-mail to the UC journalism majors. Twelve of the responses are listed below. Each person had a unique and interesting response to the questions of, “what do you want to do with your degree? What is your dream job?” and “With the economy in a recession, are you worried about future job prospects?”

Melissa K wants to go into the book publishing industry and would love to live in New York City. About future job prospects, she said, “I am a little fearful with the economy but I have hope for the future. I don't think people are going to stop reading books.”

Rose D. would like to write for a magazine like Entertainment Weekly or TV Guide. Her dream job, however, would be to write for a TV show. She has no faith in future job prospects, saying, “I am very worried about my job prospects. I have a journalist friend who lives in New York who has been looking for a job for two whole years. Now my "back-up" plan of being a journalist seems just as ridiculous as being a TV show writer.”

Bethany R. is still deciding her course of action. Her three interesting plans for using her journalism degree involve:
“A. I'm going to move to the Caribbean and start a pineapple picking plantation. All I want to do is pick pineapples and drink good rum underneath the stars.
B. After graduation, I'm going to fall in the fetal position and cry out of frustration and anxiety.
C. Pray that someone will hire me. I don't care where, I just want a job.”
These all seem like very “interesting” (yet sadly viable) options. Realistically, her dream job would be to be either an “off-beat music magazine editor” or an editor Bon Appetite. Bethany was confident about the existence of future job prospects, “I've been searching around online and there are plenty of jobs out there for journalists; they just have to know where to look. Small town papers are hiring right now and they are prospering despite what people say about the newspaper industry. People can't get their local news from national publications and because this, Podunk papers in Kentucky and Texas are thriving and hiring. However, my fall back jobs are garbage man or pineapple picker.”

Marielle M. would like to get into the magazine or public relations industry, ideals writing for a fashion/beauty magazine like Elle or Lucky. However, she is very worried about future job prospects and feels that she is, “going to need to develop some good connections in order to receive a satisfactory job, and definitely for my dream job.

Nayla P. also wants to be in the magazine industry, but dazes out at the thought of hopefully writing for High Times. Nayla is worried about future job prospects, “but I try to live in the present, and hope for a better future.”

Tiffany B. would like to write features for a magazine. She doesn’t have a current “dream job” and doesn’t really care where her future paychecks come from. She just wants to have a diverse career covering diverse stories and people. She is worried about future job prospects, noting that, “journalism was a hard field to succeed in when the economy was good, now that is seems to be in a continuous downward spiral I think that publishers will be forced to seed out the natural talent from those who have a "possible" talent.”

Amanda W. would like to write for a newspaper, although, “I am fully aware that it is a dying art. I may free lance for random magazines at my leisure but I'll try to avoid them for the most part.” She then goes on to counter this by saying that National Geographic would be her dream job. She wants to be able to, “travel and write freely about topics that are important to me. I don't care how popular the publication is - it's the doing and the living of the career that matters most.” She is worried about the economy but, “I have a plan B. I'll be an event planner who free lances on the side while fostering homeless dogs and/or cats and playing cameos in hot blockbuster movies.”

Keith R. has always wanted to be a writer, but chose journalism, “because it is a more viable career choice than my first love: creative writing.” He wants to write long narrative articles for magazines. He has kept busy through writing for the News Record and interning at a local magazine. He would love to write for National Geographic. He is hopeful about getting a future job, “I honestly don't feel that a finance major has any better job at landing a job than I do. I am still of the opinion that you can do whatever you put your mind to. Plus, why would you pursue anything other than what you love? If you go about building a resume and making the necessary contacts, the rest will fall into place. Then, if that fails, you can always consider putting off the inevitable by prolonging your education with grad school...”

Emily K. wants to write for a magazine and possibly explore radio. Her dream job is to write for Rolling Stone or to start her own magazine. She is not worried about future job prospects, saying, “if you want something bad enough, you'll find a way to make it happen. You might not find exactly what you want, but you'll make it work.”

Katelyn F. wants to write for a fashion magazine like Vogue, Harpers, Bazar, or Vanity Fair and would also like to start her own magazine. She also is not very worried about the economy.

Elizabeth L. is in the magazine track, but doesn’t want to move out of Cincinnati, “since marriage makes moving awkward for me, and since I did not spend five years in school for a day job, I'll probably look outside journalism for a career. Writing and copy looks like fun, or maybe copy-editing. At the very least, studying journalism has sharpened my writing skills.”
Elizabeth game some insight into the economic situation, saying, “ I wonder if people are using The Economy as an excuse to give up on job searching, saying, "It stinks so I'm not even going to touch it." Whine, whine, whine. The fact is, even if we sink into a second Great Depression, with unemployment around 20%, there are still a lot of other countries in the world that would trade places with us in a millisecond. And not just third world countries -- Italy would love to have our current unemployment rate.”

Susan L. would like to work for a magazine like National Geographic. She is worried about the future, saying, “I was hoping that over the next few years things would start to clear up but it doesn't seem like that will be the case.

The majority of these respondents would like to work in the magazine industry. This is not a surprise, since the newspaper industry is on the decline, while the magazine industry remains relatively stable. National Geographic seems like a particularly popular choice. I was somewhat surprised that none of the respondents said that they would be interested in becoming a sports writer. However, nine of the ten respondents were females and the majority of writers at sports magazines are males. Regardless, the future of journalism is overall filled with prospective magazine writers who are somewhat worried about future job prospects.

Pizza, Anyone?

College is a very fast-paced time in life. Students are constantly running around, often more worried about their academics or extracurricular activities than their health. Since life can get pretty hectic, college students don’t always have time to sit down and eat a nourishing meal. This is where pizza comes into play. Although pizza may not be the healthiest food out there, it is very convenient since it is easy to eat on the run. Pizza also generally contains foods from the five main food groups: breads (crust), dairy (cheese), fruits (tomato sauce), vegetables (mushrooms, peppers, onions, etc.), and meats and proteins (pepperoni, sausage, bacon, etc.). Pizza is also relatively inexpensive (about $15 for a pie that can feed three or four people) and can even be delivered to a house or dorm room. It is due to all of these reasons that pizza is such a major hit with college students.

According to PizzaMarketplace.com, “with sales expected to reach $566 billion across 950,000 locations, the restaurant industry is a driver of the U.S. economy.”
The same website lists Pizza Hut as the largest pizza company with 13,000 locations worldwide. Domino’s is the world’s second-largest pizza chain with 8,600 units worldwide, grossing $1.5 billion in revenue in 2007. Papa John’s is the world’s third-largest pizza company, encompassing 3,330 units worldwide for about 1.1 billion in profit in 2007. Little Caesar’s is the world’s fourth-largest pizza company with 2,300 units worldwide.

Cities like Chicago and New York are famous for their pizza places. Chicago-style deep-dish pizzas and New York-style pizzas containing huge slices and lots of toppings are signature styles in the pizza industry. Cincinnati is also a city with a deep pizza history. Cincinnati’s signature pizza company is La Rosa’s, whose products and sauces can be shipped all over the world. With over 70 locations in the tri-state area, La Rosa’s has been serving the Queen City for over 50 years. Queen City Pizza, Trotta’s, and Adriatico’s are just a few of Cincinnati’s many other signature locations. Cincinnati is a city of diverse flavor, and its pizza places definitely contribute to this flavor.

I posted a survey on Facebook on January 26th that asked the question, “What is your favorite pizza place.” I received many responses, most of which were from college-aged people. In the survey, Papa John’s and LaRosa’s were tied as the top two favorite pizza places, each taking 27% of the overall vote. “La Rosa’s is chronic,” said 21 year-old Matt Schehm. “You can’t beat their selection of food, especially the calzones.” Alyssa Gerdes, on the other hand, feels that, “Papa John’s has the best cheese and the best crust.” Donato’s was third with 16% of the overall vote, followed by Pizza Hut with 11%. Dewey’s, Adriatico’s, and Marion’s (in Dayton) rounded out the field with 5% each. Twenty year-old Chris Greene says that Adriatico’s, which is located on Jefferson Avenue near UC’s campus, has, “awesome pizza. You gotta try it!” Most of the people who took part in the survey were in their early-20s and were from the West-side of Cincinnati.

It was not very surprising that La Rosa’s was one of the favorite pizza places, since most of the people who responded to this poll were from Cincinnati. Cincinnatians are loyal to their city, and this includes being loyal to local eateries. I work at Papa John’s, so it made me feel confident about future business prospects that Papa John’s was tied for the favorite pizza place overall. The main thing that surprised me was that Domino’s, the second largest national pizza chain, received no votes at all. I was also somewhat surprised that the world’s largest pizza chain, Pizza Hut, came in fourth place overall.

Best of Cincinnati.com polled people all over the city of all different ages and backgrounds about their favorite pizza places. Dewey’s Pizza was awarded the best local chain pizzeria, while Adriatico’s was named the best single-location pizzeria for 2009. Dewey’s was also named the restaurant with the best salads.

A Cincinnati Citysearch article also ranked the top ten Cincinnati pizzerias. Bravo Italian Kitchen in West Chester came in first, followed by Pomodori’s and Adriatico’s. Dewey’s was fourth, La Rosa’s was seventh, and Donato’s was ninth. This too was in high contrast to my Facebook poll, in which no one voted for Bravo Italian Kitchen or Pomodori’s. This could very well be because both of these pizza places are on the east side, while most of the respondents were West Siders. It is also less expensive to pick up a pizza or have it delivered, rather than to go out and eat at a restaurant. So, college kids (in this case West Siders) are more likely to go pick up a pizza from their local La Rosa’s or Papa John’s than to drive across town and spend tons of money at Pomodori’s or Bravo Italian Kitchen.

Regardless of what their favorite pizza place is, college kids love pizza. They love it for the taste, for the convenience, for the price, and for the fact that it contains food from each of the five food groups. College kids also like going to pizza places to hang out and eat with friends and classmates. Cincinnati may not be Chicago or New York, but there are definitely a large variety of pizza tastes available here. Like with anything else in life, different people with different demographics enjoy different things. College kids may like to eat different things than older people. West Siders may enjoy eating at different places than East Siders. However, despite all these differences, one thing is similar: Cincinnatians like to eat pizza.

___________________________________________________________
Sources:
1. http://www.pizzamarketplace.com/

2. http://www.bestofcincinnati.com/

3. http://cincinnati.citysearch.com/bestof/winners/pizza

Signing Day 2K9

^Wide receiver recruit Jamar Howard


Wednesday February 4th was National Signing Day. This is the day when colleges across the nation sign high school seniors to sports scholarships. Signing high school recruits to scholarships is a very competitive process. When it comes to signing prospective high school football recruits, UC is generally far behind the likes of traditional “powerhouse” schools like Ohio State, Notre Dame, Florida, and Tennessee. Coming off its most successful season in school history, which was culminated by a heartbreaking loss in the Orange Bowl to Virginia Tech, the Bearcats looked to sign some talent to help replace ten starters on defense. Like in years past, the Bearcats relied heavily on local talent on this years’ Signing Day.

The Bearcats’ signing class ranks 60th overall, according to Rivals.com. UC also ranks fifth in the Big East in recruiting behind West Virginia, South Florida, Rutgers, and Pitt. UC landed 27 players, which included: no 5-star recruits, two 4-star recruits, and eight 3-star recruits. UC also was not able to sign any players ranked in Rivals’ top 100. One of the 4-star recruits is 5-11 defensive back Chris Williams from Cincinnati, who is the 25th best cornerback prospect in the country. 6 foot 4 wide receiver Jamar Howard from California is Cincinnati’s other 4-star recruit. Howard chose UC over scholarship offers by Indiana, Kansas State, Memphis, California, Minnesota, and Purdue. Some other major recruits are: outside linebacker Maalik Bomar, offensive tackle Austen Bujnoch, defensive tackle Ricky Harris, cornerback Everette Horne, defensive tackle Jordan Stepp, and inside linebacker Will Saddler. They will all step up in the next few years to help solidify a very young defense.

These rankings are all very arbitrary. Former UC standouts Mike Mickens, Terrell Byrd, Trevor Canfield, and Connor Barwin, all of whom have NFL potential, were all 2-star recruits coming into college. So, obviously, the numbers don’t necessarily mean anything. However, having players that are ranked high is a good indication that they will more likely than not have a reasonably successful college career.

In order to see how the numbers may or may not matter, look back at Rivals 2005 recruit class. Offensive tackle Eugene Monroe (3), linebacker Rey Maualuga (5), quarterback Mark Sanchez (7), running back Jonathan Stewart (10), wide receiver De Sean Jackson (18), Darren Mc Fadden (22) and Brian Cushing (53) are all either in the NFL or will be drafted this year. Other players like: defensive end Melvin Alaeze (4), wide receiver Fred Rouse (6), and defensive tackle Callahan Bright (14) did not meet expectations and surely do not have futures in the NFL.

The ‘Cats class is not ranked nearly as favorably as Ohio State’s, which has the third best recruiting class in the country according to Rivals.com. The Buckeyes landed two 5-star recruits and fifteen 4-star recruits, including: the second-best center, third-ranked outside linebacker, second-ranked fullback, and fourth-ranked safety in the country, among many other highly touted recruits. Looking at other local colleges, Indiana ranks 59th, Kentucky ranks 42nd, and Miami ranks 88th.

No quarterback was signed by the Bearcats, since Coach Kelly saw it as unnecessary. Junior Tony Pike will be the incumbent starter for next season. In addition to Pike, however, the team also retains Demetrius Jones (sophomore), Chazz Anderson (freshman), Zach Collaros (freshman), Brandon Kay (freshman), and Travis Kelce (red shirt sophomore). No running backs were signed either. John Goebel (junior) and (junior) Jacob Ramsey will return to the ‘Cats for their senior seasons. Redshirt freshman Isaiah Pead also looks to make a difference for the Bearcats. Freshmen Darrin and Trammell Williams and Luca Romeo are all also running backs still on the football team.

For the past few seasons, defense was one of the Bearcats’ primary strengths. Ten of eleven defensive starters will graduate by the start of next season, leaving a big hole where underclassmen must quickly step up to fill the void. In addition to the current underclass defensive players on the roster, this recruiting class will surely help UC’s defense remain one of the best units in the Big East.