Social media: A double edged sword

Social media has provided many people an outlet (in 140 words or less). Some use this as a means to chastise their favourite prominent figure. Others like NHL enforcer or tough guy Paul Bisonnette have utilized this platform to expose himself to other opportunities outside of…. you know…. Punching guys in the face.

Paul’s Twitter handle @Biznasty2point0 has given Mr.Bissonette the opportunity to connect with his fans outside of hockey and is to me the prime example of someone who has used Twitter colorfully but not offended anyone to outrageously.  Another thing to note is that most enforcers don’t have a long career span; they’re very interchangeable. Paul also plays out of Columbus and that isn’t a white-hot hockey hot bed compared to cities like Toronto, Los Angeles or even Buffalo…. Wow that was said.

This has opened doors for Biznasty himself to branch out. He ran a weekly episodic documentation of sorts about his off season regime. He pretty much just worked out and ran alongside personal trainers aggressively hitting on them, but it was more television time then I can have claimed to hold, so good for him.

This is just one example of how athletes are utilizing social media to get their word out there for better or worse.

Kobe Bryant last year came under fire for tweeting out during the LA Lakers play off run, without him. The Black Mamba as he is so affectionately referred to, had managed to crumble under the weight of carrying his team for 15 years and ruptured his Achilles tendon weeks prior. That wasn’t the problem, the problem was he was tweeting what he deemed as words of encouragement, this was not how it was perceived. It was taken as Kobe literally trying to pull the strings from his sweet court side seat. Few could blame him for wanting to direly to be playing; that being said. He was told from both NBA and the Lakers organization to pull in the reigns, so to speak, for the remainder of his employer’s play off run.

Lets hope Kobe heals quickly, cause his teams no good this year.

Til then this is the ‘Nation talking about the situation.

Should athletes apologize for their tweets?

Freedom of speech, it’s a big deal. I believe in the right to say or express yourself in any way. So when athletes like Evander Kane lastyear came under harsh scrutiny for a picture he tweeted, I cry clown tears.

The photo in question shows young Evander, chilling out in a sweet Las Vegas Penthouse flaunting his cash and oodles of admiration from his entourage hanging out in the background. Just oodles.

This is how social media has changed us all for better or worse. In the 90’s this photo was still taken, but it was a shitty Polaroid of Doug Gilmour taking a belly shot off of Pat Burns or something. It NEVER left the circle. Evander Kane was a victim of being perhaps a little exuberant in his display, but the amount of negative publicity he received, likely affected how his hockey team the Winnipeg Jets handle their social media policies now.

The challenge being: how do you allow to the players whom endorse the site, to express themselves freely, but while keeping everyone gloriously content with what you say?

Teams like the New Jersey Devils have a strict zero social media policy, the only player they lifted this for was Legendary current goaltender Martin Brodeur, so he could promote for his EA Sports NHL 14 covercampaign.  Other players like Roberto Luongo operate under an alias, this has been suggested to me in class, this is an example of how it being utilized. Everyone knows it’s Bobby Lou, but will he ever acknowledge it in public?

Time will tell how the rest of professional sports, not only the NHL, adapt to this ever evolving new world of social media

Til then this is the ‘Nation talking about the situation.

Why you shouldn't give up on assets

The year is 2011 and the Leafs were in the need for a frontline center.  They had assembled a nice group of forwards but were still somewhat thin at the Center ice position. This off-season was especially frustrating for me because the Leafs brain trust had managed to acquire a lucrative Forward, just not at the Centre position.  The deal made was former 5th over all pick Luke Schenn for the man drafted 2nd over all years prior behind some schmuck called Sidney Crosby. This man was James van Riemsdyk. This deal could be made because Brian Burke (GM and president at the time) looked at his wreck of a team and thought.

“We sure have a lot of defensemen, and not enough skill upfront at the forward position”

In laments terms, this is excess, or surplus. Too much of the same parts doing the same job, not enough space to employ them. So the deal was made. A durable stay at home defenseman for a whole lot of unrealized potential.

Its two years later and the Leafs seem to be thriving, strong positional play from amongst their assets has lead them to amongst the elite in the Eastern Conference (or whatever they’re calling it now). JVR has emerged as a key cog in the offense that ranks amongst the league leaders in goals scored. Then karma happened. Injuries to top two centers David Bolland and Tyler Bozak had forced the boys in blue and white to entertain an interesting idea, move JVR to the position they have long needed an elite presence, the Centre ice position.

This is why it pays to be multi factitive in what ever position you are employed at work. You may not get your dream job right away and I’m not saying JVR enjoys this position he holds, he may secretly begrudging this ‘opportunity’. Through Social Media JVR has at least emitted an aura of ‘everything’s going to work out” and even has poked fun at the level of media exposure this whole thing has endured already.

JVR need not fret though because other than maybe some points in the standings being lost short term, he really cant lose. If he falters through this experiment, time will literally heal all wounds and the two centers will return from injury, or a new one will be acquired to aid in filling the void.

Off the ice, this is a prime example to how social media has changed the reporting of sports.

This extends to beyond the instant reporting of a position change that could not have been reported as quickly 20 years ago.  Now things like fisticuffs or venomous banter amongst teammates is set for exposure.  Time will tell if this makes hockey players even more cliché when dealing with interviews post practice. New levels of sheepishness learned from the ability reporters have now too instantly report any and all colorful remarks.

Til then this is the 'Nation talking about the situation.

Crash: An Oscar? Really?

 Film Review: Crash                                                                         By:Kyle Carr

I came into this viewing with literally zero expectations. The last time that happened I was seventeen and I was pleasantly surprised by the hokey film, Hot Rod. The film Crash, though very different from the mainstream, provides you with what could only be described as the poor man’s Magnolia.  An ensemble cast that includes, among others, Don Cheadle and Brenden Fraser, provides a good mix of compelling drama, and emotional context.

The story revolves around several arcs intertwining over the course of two days.  Racism looms over this film heavily as each character encounters some degree of it throughout. The cultural diversity amongst the actors reflects this.  Some powerful scenes occur with a Hispanic locksmith and his daughter being encountered by a disgruntled East Indian store clerk. There’s also an interesting look at what some would consider a unique case of police brutality. This theme continues throughout as corruption and the cost some are willing to pay to keep a secret are displayed.  There’s a good mix of contrast amongst the cast in portraying people who mean well vs. people who mean harm.  The problem I find with ensemble casts are its hard to really give each character their proper screen time.

Negatives about the film include and are pretty much isolated to; the ending. I was not satisfied with that ending what so ever. Woe is me, I suppose, and perhaps this film will hit home harder for someone else more captivated by the over all story. This film how ever, to me deserved slightly more arc or in the very least a culminating catastrophe where somehow each character received some sort of triumph, or personal anguish. C’est la vie, I digress.

The filming displayed was fairly well done. The angles weren’t the most exciting, but the background of most settings provided the perfect tone for most scenes.  The narrative was non-existent in my opinion and rightfully so. So many unique points of view are displayed, and screen time distributed evenly, there’s no real main protagonist. Thusly no need to have underlying plot saver for those less informed or disinterested. This film is a thinker and thusly, a narrative stops us from asking questions, piecing the story scene by scene and sitting idly as each part in the story becomes part of the preceding. 

To say that there’s a fair bit of salty dialogue would be an understatement.  Racism can’t be tip toed around unfortunately and be effective. Well not if it’s one of the major cogs propelling the story anyways.  So with that being said the amount of racial epithets in this film is pretty noticeable. However not on the level of Scar Face with the F bomb or Django Unchained with a commonly known epithet as well. This is absolutely necessary in my opinion and is used tastefully throughout.

The score lacked, and tracks displayed throughout were not memorable to me upon reflection. Too much thinking going on I guess for me to really be moved by the score.  Ominous tones?

The editing was well done, one scene in particular comes to mind between a man and his daughter being threatened. This was done so well and the continuation of the plot afterwards is the beginning to everything being mostly tied up by the end. This was akin the Gran Torino in terms of dramatic display and really had you somewhat on the edge of your seat. The special effects weren’t plentiful throughout, some interesting use of man imposed inflictions did however occur.

For me the performance that stole the show was Terrence Howard.  He really showed his range in comparison to his type cast roles at the time of this filming as a cop or street thug. He conveyed the conflictions of a man being thrown into his personal circus well. Nice performances by Don Cheadel, Ryan Phillipe, Matt Dhillon, and Larenz Tate are on display while Sandra Bullock and Brenden Fraser, quite frankly could have done better.  ‘Shout out to the ATL’ as Ludacris makes his acting debut as well playing somewhat of an antithesis of himself. 

Crash was a decent film, not a movie I’d pay to put on my shelf and look at in non alphabetical order, but a film you wouldn’t be totally upset viewing if there was nothing on and you were stuck inside sick all day.  That reads pretty bleak, so allow me to assure you that this is probably an aberration, perhaps I’m crazy but this film surprises me with its accolades.

It’s no Hot Rod

7/10

Welcome to my wheel house

This week we were given the task of coming up with 1000 or more words on stories. I’m Kyle Carr…. And welcome to a bit of an informative recanting regarding a storied and historic franchise.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, an Original Six team still thriving in the NHL. Ownership has changed hands three times within the last decade and the team has not won the sports holy grail since 1967; 46 years and counting…. for those who are keeping track. Players complain of the media scrutiny being too intense; akin to what David Beckham experienced in his Premiere League days; from how Alex Rodriguez is currently experiencing his twilight playing years for the New York Yankees.  That’s because playing in Toronto isn’t like playing in most cities in the NHL. Playing in Toronto, gives you certain liberties. For instance, you can suck at being a Toronto Maple Leaf. The Leafs have gone through stretches of good management throughout the last 40 years, but have endured several tumultuous stretches. The first cold streak occurred throughout most of the 1970’s when the team was owned by the now deceased Harrold Ballard. Harrold knew he could ice a terrible team, save on players’ salaries and still make his annual fiscal goals. Ballard was a greedyman, but many could only watch in awe as after declining to sign two stars in Darryl Sittler and Lanny Mcdonald, the team continued to sell out Maple Leaf Gardens on a regular basis. Ballard, a rather gluttonous and heinous figurehead in Toronto eventually passed on, but the evidence was there. The Leafs were a bonafide gold mine, immune to product quality effecting the off ice essentials; money raking.


Making money was good but eventually after the franchise changed hands, the Leafs brass thought it’d be good to focus on winning, and winning they did. The 90’s brought a new era of stars in Kingston native Doug Gilmour and fan favorite Wendel Clark. See although tons of money can be made for a team like the Leafs, it’s somewhat subsidized by things like players’ salaries.  During the play off season, the teams that make it are not contractually obligated to continue paying players, this is due to players being paid similarly to teachers in that it’s weighted and distributed over the course of the regular season. This basically means that besides player bonus and incentives offered by the franchise; the deeper a run a team makes in the play offs, the deeper the pockets of team owners become. Teams spend currently between 40 million and 70 million annually on players’ salaries alone. For a team like the Maple Leafs, they spent near the ceiling every year and through this ice a decent team. The Leafs rolled this new wave of success to multiple play off runs built around a dream that this team could one day hoist the game Holy Grail, Lord Stanley’s Cup.
 

The turn of the millennium brought a new sense of pride to the organization.  For starters, they had moved into a new building, enter the Air Canada Centre. Currently almost every major sporting venue has their naming rights sold to the highest bidder, regardless of how it sounds (The Phoenix Coyote’s Jobing.com Arena). The Leafs were among the first organizations to play for a sponsored arena. They also expanded alongside the Toronto Raptors of the NBA and Toronto Rock of NLL to fall under the new conglomerate Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment or MLSE. This lead to essentially what this entire blog is about. The launch of Maple Leaf Square.

One of the biggest gripes with attending most Toronto sporting events is the lack of availability for the average fan to experience their favorite team play a meaningful hockey game.  Maple Leaf Square is described on its website as “The epicenter of Toronto Sports and Entertainment District.” What this provides is a gathering of the casual fan, and also an economic boost for the entire area, including ‘Real Time Sports and Grill’ of which is owned by, you guessed it, MLSE as well.  Condominiums have been developed and subsequently sold out in literally no time at all.  This has reinvigorated fan interest and though not one single franchise under the MLSE umbrella experienced prolonged success, last spring provided a small and satisfying taste of what a winner could bring to this city. I’m of course referring to the almost triumphant comeback witnessed during last years play off run between The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins. 

It cant be explained what makes a Leafs fan loyal.  I have considered highlighting the fact that I am such a fan on my resume. What better way to display my level of loyalty to one franchise that has been the catalyst for so much joy and anguish through my formative years.  It is, too put it bluntly, a team sold on history, on past glory. For decades it worked flawlessly but now even the Brass upstairs has attempted to put the right pieces in place with new MLSE President Tim Leiweke.  Leiweke has already made waves declaring preparations have already begun towards the planning of a parade route; rather prematurely.  He’s also done the unthinkable and stripped the ACC of most of it historic memorabilia and photos found throughout the building. An admission that the past is very much behind them.

I was asked to write a blog about stories, and obviously, given my industry, somehow relate it to marketing. Well my answer to that is, what better example exists in the world of professional sports?  In the world itself even? Here is a team that has not won a Championship in almost 50 years and yet the passion has never been more prevalent. Everyone know the Leafs’ story. Whether you’re an avid fan or a hater, you can’t help buying in to this team’s tale of persistence and passion. As I referred to earlier this is a team that through being sold on history and past glory has grown from a premiere NHL franchise to one of the most valued in the world currently withholding an estimated value of roughly one billion by itself. Not including somewhat fledgling by comparison fellow franchise's that also sit alongside in TFC and the Raps. All in all, Canadian media conglomerate's Rogers and Bel Communications Communications felt the price was worth it purchasing the entire MLSE organization for roughly 1.35 billion. Hopefully the new regime brings winners to this city, cause as fans we’ve held up our end of the bargain.

Til next time this is The ‘Nation, talking about the situation.