XP PSP s01e01: Evenflow

Fun little venture I’ve started up with some fellow sports-minded fellas here in Korea; We’ve started the Expat Pro Sports Podcast — XP PSP — and basically myself, Sachin Mahajan, Harold Dale, Jason Hiltz, Ryan Brown, and who knows who else will rotate in and out to chat about everything going on in the sports world for about 30 minutes at a time. For those expats out there who are missing their favorite multi-million dollar athletic competitions back home, we hope this scratches your itch just a little.

In our premier episode, we chatted about:

-The NHL playoffs, previewing a few of the first-round series.

-The NFL draft, Manti T’eo, and whether owners should touch the championship trophy first or not.

-The NBA playoffs, and whether the Miami Heat can be beaten.

-Why the Toronto Blue Jays are still bad.

-Whether coaches or management are to blame for a team with good players being bad.

-much, much more. Well, a little bit more.

Special thanks to the talented Ralph Hass of http://www.hasthevoice.com/ for providing our intro voice-over.

Enjoy the first episode! Leave a comment with some feedback, tell us if you like it, and what you’d like to hear in the future.

Click here to listen: xppsp.podbean.com

Subscribe and download us on iTunes as well!

Keith Slashes Sedin, and His Non-Sexist Human Status.

Follow @davecunningFollow @KJT1040Follow @team1040Follow @DuncanKeith

So this happened.

In brief summary, Daniel Sedin scored whilst getting Paul Bunyan’ed by Duncan Keith.

The goal effectively sunk Chicago’s chances at winning the game, and clearly brought out some frustration in Keith upon Sedin — whom you may remember from this incident just over a year ago, is not Duncan’s best bud. 

After the game, Keith fielded questions, including this one from Team 1040‘s Karen Thomson:

“Well it looked like maybe there was a penalty that went undetected. You seemed a bit frustrated.”

Her line of questioning drew these comments from Keith:

Keith: “Oh no, I don’t think there was. I think he scored a nice goal. The ref was right there. That’s what the ref saw. We should get you as ref, maybe, hey? First female referee… can’t play probably either, right? But you’re thinking the game like you know it? OK, see ya.”

The problem for Thomson is, that the call did not go undetected by the referee, as illustrated in the picture below:

Had she gotten her facts correct prior to the interview, Thomson may have asked a completely different question, and Keith may have given a completely different response (and as a fellow hockey journalist, I’ve made plenty of my own mistakes, and likely will continue to do so in the future). But alas, they both said what they said — and most people think Keith’s a sexist jerk for his side.

I’d like to assume Keith objectively lambastes her like he would any male or female reporter that had asked him that question — only he then subjects himself to cries of sexism from his mentioned notion of her being the (assumably, NHL’s) first female referee. He didn’t say she’d be bad at it because she’s a female, he insinuated she’d be bad because he felt she didn’t know what she was talking about. Which, as the above picture indicates, wasn’t incorrect in this instance. He doubts she can play (which she acknowledges by offering that she can’t skate), or even think the game well either, which I can’t prove he meant is or isn’t due to her gender, but I’d venture it was just him being a prick out of annoyance.

But whatever his true motives, c’mon Duncan, keep a lid on it. Your team just locked up the President’s Trophy — why you heff be mad?

Charity Auction for Kings SC Ring, Game Tix/Signed Jersey/Dinner with Luc Robitaille.

As a big fan of the LA Kings, and general supporter of charity, I’m happy to post the following press release. I know I’d like to get my hands on one of those rings…

-SDC

Follow @davecunningFollow @LAKingsFollow @charitybuzzFollow @childrensLA

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L.A. Kings Authentic Stanley Cup Championship Ring Up for Special Auction to Benefit Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Bids Accepted Through 12:00 p.m. PST/3:00 p.m. EST on Monday, April 22 at CharityBuzz.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Los Angeles (April 9, 2013) – Fans of the defending world champion Los Angeles Kings have a unique opportunity to own a piece of sports history while also supporting a worthy cause.  One of an extremely limited number of authentic L.A. Kings Stanley Cup Championship rings, courtesy of the Kings in support of their charitable partners, is up for auction now through April 22 on CharityBuzz.com.  Proceeds from the sale will benefit two of the Kings’ charitable partners, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and City Year Los Angeles.

Created by world premiere jeweler, Tiffany & Co.®, the ring is fabricated to the exact specifications of the Stanley Cup Championship rings that were also created for the Kings’ players.  Worth $13,500 at fair market value, the ring features 14 karat white gold with .84 carats in round, brilliant cut diamonds, and will be personalized with the name of the auction winner prominently engraved on the band.  Authentic LA Kings Stanley Cup Championship rings will not be sold in retail outlets.

Additionally, Kings fans may also bid on an “Ultimate Kings Fan Package,” valued at $7,500.  The package includes dinner for two with Luc Robitaille, two tickets to the Kings vs. Sharks game on April 27 and a Kings jersey signed by the team.

“The L.A. Kings have been an invaluable and genuinely compassionate partner over many years through philanthropic funding, widespread community blood drives, regular player visits to cheer up patients, in-game awareness, and so, so much more,” says Richard Cordova, FACHE, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles President and CEO.  “They are so generous to share in this historic time with us and make their victory a win for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles as well.”
“Supporting Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is one of the most important things we do as an organization,” says L.A. Kings president of business operations and NHL Hall-of-Famer, Luc Robataille.  “They are our Champions.”

The auction is currently underway, with bidding started at $3,000 and $800 respectively.  Both opportunities will close at 12:00 p.m. PST/3:00 p.m. EST.
For more information, visit http://www.wearechildrens.org/2013/04/be-a-part-of-los-angeles-history/

About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has been named the best children’s hospital in California and among the top five in the nation for clinical excellence with its selection to the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll. Children’s Hospital is home to The Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States. Children’s Hospital is also one of America’s premier teaching hospitals through its affiliation since 1932 with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

For more information, visit CHLA.org. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn, or visit our blog: WeAreChildrens.org.

Winter Classic and 24/7 Back, Leafs Alumni Jerseys Should Have Stayed Back; 2014 WC in LA?

The 2014 NHL Winter Classic has been officially (re)announced, and so have the jerseys each team will wear for both the main event and the alumni game. Not everyone appears to be as enthusiastic about the choice for the New Year’s Eve alumni game’s uniforms as Gary Bettman does.

The jerseys for the real teams will wear on New Year’s Day are, on the other hand, phenomenal. The potential 100,000+ fans in attendance at Michigan Stadium will be far happier to see Toronto in these ones — both of Detroit’s look sharp.

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Also announced was the return of HBO’s 24/7 series, this year following both the Leafs and Red Wings behind the scenes as a lead up to the Winter Classic game. I still would love to see HBO place this amount of cinematic drama on the Stanley Cup Final — which is far more important than the mid regular season game that the WC is — but my opinion continues to fall upon deaf ears. Either way, I love this show, and I’m glad HBO stayed on board post-lockout to put it back on the air.

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Also reported (albeit not confirmed) by multiple sources was that an outdoor game (assumably the Winter Classic) in 2014 will be played — get this — in Los Angeles. You know, a place where people tired of being cold retreat to in order to escape the most necessary ingredients for outdoor ice hockey — cold and ice. It seems environmentally impossible, but Dodger Stadium is apparently getting a $100 million face-lift, so who knows what it’ll be capable of. Seems like an odd thing to lie about, but I’ll wait for confirmation from the NHL before I believe it. If it’s true, I sure am pumped for the LA Kings.

Reports also hint at the return of the Heritage Classic, to be played at a Canadian venue.

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While all those games were be announced as happening, looks like the NHL’s Europe Premier games for 2013 have been dealt the opposite fate — reports say 2013-14’s version of the across the pond games are out, with much discussion to be had on the NHL’s future international presence.

Wanna Be a Writer? Start As a Blogger.

Congratulations JDC Junior Journalists on finding this blog! You have been awarded 10 bonus points. The following is my lecture from April 6, 2013.

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What is a “blog”?

1)     An online journal or diary, available for all the world to read — depending on your privacy settings, and ability/desire to publicize and advertise it.

2)     The word is the short form of “weblog”, which is the mashed together version of “web log”, which refers to logging information on the web.

3)     The term “blog” was coined in 1997 when a liberty was taken with the term, shortening it. A person who writes a blog became known as a “blogger”.

4)     Blogs can be any length, but posts of a shorter nature like Twitter’s are known as “micro-blogs”.

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Why blog?

1)     Because you can say anything you want, in any language, about any topic you want – give opinions, write reports, share fiction, poetry, review products, discuss music, sports, history – blogs are a haven of free speech, and a vehicular outlet for people who have something to say but nowhere to say it.

a)     You never know what you might write about – a man in Pakistan inadvertently live-tweeted the capture of Osama Bin Laden. Just write and let the words take you where they will.

b)     You also have the power to edit or delete a blog, if something needs to be updated, or removed altogether.

c)      It can teach you how to write engaging content – invaluable for writers on any platform.

2)     Because you can blog from anywhere that has an internet connection, anytime – home computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

3)     Because you can blog however you want – traditional text, add pictures, blog pictures only (photo blog), video blog (vlog), audio/podcast, and more.

4)     Because it’s free. Purchasing a domain and hosting for a webpage is costly, and requires building, or the hiring of someone to build your page for you. Blogs come with templates to choose from and are user/tech-inept friendly. WordPress, Blogger, and Tumblr and amongst the most popular blogging platforms available.

5)     Everybody’s doing it – even newspapers are adding blogs to their publication’s websites in an effort to stay relevant and profitable in the digital age. Their blogs mean opportunity to blog for them, and sometimes even hiring to do so.

6)     Because there’s no wrong way to do it. If you can click “post”, then you can blog.

7)     Because it’s a great way to jump start your writing career and gain some notoriety and confidence while no one cares who you are or wants to publish your writing.

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How can blogging help an established or aspiring journalist?

1)     It keeps you in practice when you may not have other opportunity to write.

2)     It connects you to an audience. If you learn to promote your work through social media, you have the chance to connect to/be seen by 500 million Twitter users, 170 million Tumblr users, 1 billion YouTube users, 1.06 billion Facebook users, and however many users and viewers.

a)     Accruing a high volume following of visitors will make you appear valuable and marketable to advertisers. This can be advantageous in applications for writing positions, selling advertisements, and can also make you more likely to be approached with opportunities.

3)     It connects you with online communities interested in the topic(s) you write about, and may lead to further writing opportunities.

4)     It is advantageous to a blogger that people can click on a free blog from their computer or phone easier than going to a newsstand and buying a newspaper, or even paying for an online subscription.

5)     It can lead to opportunities for interviews, product reviews, and more.

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What are the disadvantages of blogging?

1)     You won’t make any money, at least in the beginning. There are ways to monetize your blog with advertisements and products, but blogging will likely be a “labor of love” for you until you manage to appear on someone important in writing’s radar.

2)     Depending on the community your blog creates, visitor comments can sometimes be rather negative – you’ll have to either develop a “thick skin”, ignore them, or develop some constructive tact in dialoging with people who chose reply with negativity.

3)     Because of the open and unedited nature of blogging, bloggers don’t carry an overly credible reputation with them amongst trained journalists. If you want to be taken seriously as a journalist, eventually you will have to progress to writing for an established publication, or start one yourself.

a)     Further, blogging can leave you open to grammatical and style errors that may out your writing as amateur. You’ll need to pay close attention if you want to impress anyone with your blogs. When in doubt, enlist a proofreader.

4)     It requires a lot of effort and dedication if it’s going to go anywhere – if you’re a procrastinator, or lose interest in blogging regularly, your blog will likely go by the wayside, along with all its potential.

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In conclusion, everything I’ve accomplished in journalism can be directly traced back to my days as a dedicated blogger. I strongly recommend it to any of you as a supplement to your ongoing studies towards a career in writing.

While you’re here, follow me on Twitter:Follow @davecunning