Category Archives: Colin Davis

Generalizing galore in Paris aftermath

Posted on by

By COLIN DAVIS

I, like most people, have been deeply saddened by the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, Beirut, and saddened even more by the reaction from the news media and my friends.

Social networks like Facebook and Twitter were buzzing with everyone adding their two cents to the situation. In the past few days everyone has heard the sentiment, Americans need to calm down, be mature, level headed and stop generalizing all Muslims based on the actions of an extreme minority.

I agree with the sentiment of the statement, but the irony is palpable. The statement at its core conflicts with itself. It has turned into: Do not generalize Muslims based on the actions of a few, you giant collective of dumb Americans.

The United States has had an admirable reaction to the terrorist attacks. An outpouring of support for France and Beirut, and a constant reminder of how to appropriately react to the tragic events that have come to pass. While the media is focusing on the angrier, more visceral reactions, the majority of people are not generalizing or making bigoted remarks.

It is obvious that ISIS is attempting to splinter Europe and create a Muslims versus everyone else mentality. This is the only way they can make moderate Muslims feel alienated enough that they would want to join ISIS’ cause. Now more than ever it is important to stay unified and show solidarity among one another because that is truly more powerful than any weapon.

Little respect for small-market Raptors

Posted on by

By COLIN DAVIS

The Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors are the only two undefeated teams left in the NBA.

Truly at a unique place, the NBA has seen many small market teams see time in front of the national media. Everyone is familiar with Stephen Curry’s amazing shooting ability, how loud the Bay Area gets during their home games, so why then, as the only team representing all of Canada, can the Toronto Raptors still not get the attention they deserve?

On the home page of NBA.com there is one article mentioning the Raptors surprise success, and even then there is no mention of the Raptors in their top 10 stories. Coming off a great win against the championship contending Oklahoma City Thunder, one would think that the Raptors were finally going to get some attention. Yet the video highlights of the game primarily showed Thunder highlights with a few Raptors plays mixed in.

It is understandable that the majority of fans would rather hear about Kobe Bryant’s shooting woes than the stellar play of a team located in Toronto, but in today’s day and age of media being the ever present force it is, the coverage should not be so slanted.

Ultimately, the NBA is entertainment and wants to make money over all else, providing content that the majority of viewers want. In a perfect world, the teams playing the best get covered the most, but the current system does not look to be changing any time soon.

Wake injury leaves Miami fans empty

Posted on by

By COLIN DAVIS

Cameron Wake is an NFL success story.

After playing his college ball at Penn State, he was overlooked by every team in the NFL. Going undrafted, he decided to continue pursuing his athletic career in the Canadian Football League, always hoping to one-day break in to the NFL.

In 2009, the Dolphins finally gave him a chance and he took full advantage. According NFL statistics, Cam racked up five and a half sacks his rookie season, solidifying his position on the team. Cameron Wake had finally made it to the NFL.

Now in his seventh season with Miami, Wake is a part of the most talented Dolphins team in the last decade. But on Thursday night, when the eyes of the nation were tuned in to watch the Dolphins play the Patriots, Cameron Wake tore his Achilles.

As a 33-year-old speed rusher, the injury is devastating to Cameron Wake as well as the Dolphins. Cameron Wake’s most important physical asset is his speed. After tearing his Achilles and having to sit out the rest of the year, a sad thought creeps into the minds of Dolphins fans everywhere: Have we already seen Wake’s last sack celebration?

The media are playing the injury off as just another unfortunate consequence of playing such a violent game, discussing the injury as a season-ending one and not a potential career ender. It is hard for the national media to understand what an impact Wake has had on the Dolphins and the ray of hope, albeit fairly dim, that he has provided fans with, that maybe things will start to turn around.

As Wake was helped off the field in last night’s 36-7 beating the Dolphins suffered at the hands of the Patriots, as Tom Brady celebrated with teammates over another dominant performance, as the commentators discussed whether or not Brady could play another 10 years, a familiar feeling came over me — a feeling that only lifelong Dolphins fans could understand.

To inappropriately quote the late President Gerald Ford, “The light has gone out of my life.”

Another campus shooting in the U.S.

Posted on by

By COLIN DAVIS

On Thursday, Oct. 22, a dice game being played on the outskirts of Tennessee State University resulted in one death, and three injured. As the dust settles from another campus shooting in the United States, it seems as if this article has been written before. President Obama will make his remarks about how the event was a tragedy and that no family should be put through such a traumatizing event.

According to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, the shooting was the result of a dice game dispute, right outside Tennessee State University. The two individuals involved in the shooting were not enrolled at the university.

USA Today reports that a 19-year-old male student has died and three 18-year-old female students were injured by stray bullets. Gun control is such a highly debated topic and, as shootings like these continue to occur, those who are pro gun find their defense resting on constantly weakening ground.

One of the most depressing aspects of the shootings is that they are so frequent it is almost impossible to treat them with the respect and delicacy that such a situation requires. Instead, reports come through after a shooting and the common response is a defeated head shake and an understanding that the gun laws in the country must be changed.

According to the United Nations, out of the 11 countries in the world with a per capita GDP of more than $30,000 and a population of 20 million or more, the USA has more homicides by firearm per 100,000 population than the rest of the countries combined. With a rate of 3.2, the United States has more homicides by firearm than Italy (.7), Taiwan (.6), Canada (.5), Spain (.2), Germany (.2), Australia (.1), U.K. (.1), France (.1), South Korea (.03), and Japan (.01) put together.

The call has been made before and it will be made again, but changes are needed in this country, and the situation can only be ignored for so long.

NBA champ Odom deserves respect

Posted on by

By COLIN DAVIS

Lamar Odom is a two-time NBA champion. He was the sixth man of the year just four years ago. Currently, he is fighting for his life in a Nevada hospital and, although he is showing some positive signs, his outlook is not good.

There have been many reports on the Lamar Odom story by members from all walks of the media due to his relationship with Khloe Kardashian. Yet instead of referring to Lamar as an NBA champion, he is simply referred to as a reality television star as if he has only earned his celebrity through his interactions with the Kardashian family.

There have been very few media members that have given Lamar Odom the respect he has earned, and even less have done it as succinctly as Scott Van Pelt. After recently returning to SportsCenter, Scott Van Pelt did his minute and a half long segment, “One Big Thing” and assessed the situation through the lens of a sports fan.

While Scott Van Pelt makes a few jokes during his monologue, he makes a serious and simple point. Lamar Odom is more than just a plot line in a sad story; he has earned more respect than to be referred to as a Kardashian reality star, in such troubling times for Lamar Odom it is important to remember he was a star before he ever met Khloe.

Shootings coverage should change

Posted on by

By COLIN DAVIS

In the wake of yet another tragedy at the hands of a lunatic with a gun, news media are buzzing about the Oregon shooting at Umpqua Community College.

There are several pieces of news media coverage of the shooting that warrant further discussion. It is important for the news media to refrain from giving out the shooter’s name. While people are curious and want to get as much information regarding the incident as possible, it is better to make sure the shooter gets as little exposure as possible.

If there are other psychos debating whether to commit similar acts, doing it for the fame should not be a possibility. News media are beginning to do a better job at giving less attention to the shooter and many articles are written that do not have the name contained within.

The shooting gave rise to another topic in the news media that will have a tremendous impact on the Presidential race, which is gun control. According to the BBC, “There have been 294 mass shootings – defined as an incident in which four or more people are killed or injured by gun – so far in 2015, more than one per day.” Statistics like this are baffling for a developed country and whether or not guns will be outlawed; no rational person would say there wasn’t a problem with current legislation if this type of tragedy can occur so frequently.

The news media will continue to cover the shooting for the next few days, but the discussions about gun control will continue on until there is some type of change to the legislation because it is truly the laws that are allowing the shootings to occur.

Tip off for news media covering NBA

Posted on by

By COLIN DAVIS

Today marks the start of NBA Team Media Day. NBA teams all across the league are starting their preseason training camps, with four teams meeting with news media and the remaining 26 meeting Monday.

During these media days “At least 16 of the NBA’s 30 teams will have video streams of their media day activities live on their team sites.” according to nba.com.

As part of their coverage, the NBA will cover media day on NBA TV for four hours, then host a recap show later on in the evening.

It has been a long summer break from the NBA, especially as a Heat fan whose team did not make the playoffs, but with the start of NBA Media Day, the 2014-2015 offseason is officially over and it is all in the past.

There is no better professional sports organization in the world in terms of media accessibility and relationship with the players than the NBA.

According to CBS Sports, NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, believes the NBA has the best relationship with players out of any sport. Adam Silver notes “the warmth of the personal relationships” he has made with everyone from players to officials to team general managers.

This mutual respect and collective partnership between Adam Silver and the players has benefited the media that covers the association tremendously. With former players making up much of the NBA media, the current players are much more likely to open up and have more revealing interviews.

While the season has not officially started, with the terrific media coverage of the NBA, it is at least one step closer.

No respect so far for an all-time great

Posted on by

By COLIN DAVIS

Peyton Manning is a first ballot Hall of Fame quarterback. After playing 18 years in the league at such an elite level, it would seem ridiculous to challenge his abilities after two weeks in which his team went 2-0, but that is exactly what is happening.

The news media climate around football is that of a feeding frenzy. Whatever hot take a media member can present, or bold prediction they can make for later on in the season will be consumed by one of the hundreds of millions of avid football fans in the United States.

This is why Peyton Manning is such a story currently. After two less-than-impressive games, many of the talking heads in the media have deemed his career over citing his decline in grip and arm strength as the main reasons.

While many media members can make a valid argument for why Peyton Manning is declining, whether it is arm strength, injuries catching up with him, or simply old age, it seems as if the media is forcing the argument.

With all this being said, here are the reasons why saying Peyton Manning is done is a bad idea:

  • He is just one year older than Tom Brady who won the Super Bowl last year using a dink and dunk passing attack very similar to Peyton Manning’s.
  • He is recovering from an injury to his quad, neck, and fingers.
  • His team is 2-0 after the first two weeks.

Peyton Manning is certainly winding down his career. But for the news media to count him out so early is a mistake that is a result of the constant hot take climate today’s media has created.

Mr. Untouchable back at work

Posted on by

By COLIN DAVIS

Sept. 10, 2015, marked the start of the NFL regular season with a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots.

As an avid football fan, this was music to my ears, but still something was unsettling.

The big story in the NFL offseason was the Deflategate scandal where the Patriots were accused of playing against the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC championship game with intentionally deflated footballs so that they would be easier to catch and throw. Most importantly however, Tom Brady was presumed to be aware of the cheating in some form or another.

Add this on to the growing list of suspect behavior for the Patriots in the last decade and suddenly there are questions that need to be answered.

Why does Tom Brady get a pass from the general public for his involvement in scandal after scandal?

Tom Brady is a great quarterback, arguably the greatest of all time. He is an inspiration for the underdog, a source of pride for kids being overlooked all across the country, but it is undeserved.

Brady has been involved in scandals throughout his storied career. Most recently and notably Spygate and Deflategate have demonstrated that the Patriots organization is about winning at all costs even if it means ruining the integrity of the game. Yet somehow, through all these scandals, Tom Brady remains unscathed. Still Brady is looked at as Mr. All-American, and still he is regarded as one of the best quarterbacks of all time.

Tom Brady goes to show that the American public loves a winner. The Boston Brady fanatics are some of the most loyal in the world, and as long as Brady keeps winning championships, he will always have a place in America’s heart.