Box Score Beat

The Eagles Have Landed Vick, Press Keeps Their Eye on the Football

Posted on 15. Aug, 2009 by John De Petro.

The ankle bracelet is off and it’s time to put the shoulder pads back on. Michael Vick officially returned to the bright lights and bigger camera lenses of the NFL when the Philadelphia Eagles signed the former All-Pro to a one year deal with an option for a second.

Vick is big news. He always has been. And for better of worse, he forever will be. If Vick finds success in his pro football rebirth, he will undoubtedly find himself on the back pages of newspaper tabloids across the country. However, if Vick’s re-entry into the America’s most popular sport goes awry, the nation’s media will pounce.

But for now, the focus returns to the questions surrounding Vick on the field rather than off. At Sports Illustrated.com’s homepage on Friday, above a large photo of Vick from his Falcons days read the banner headline “Eagles Making a Big Mistake.”

Writer Ross Tucker keeps the focus of his piece on how Vick’s presence affects the on-field performance of the Eagles and the off field problems the Vick signing could have on incumbent Eagle QB Donovan McNabb. There’s no mention of dog fighting or prison sentences. Just football.

Sports Illustrated columnist Peter King disagreex with Tucker and says the Vick/Eagle marriage is one which makes sense for both parties involved. “Vick wanted to play in a stable environment with smart coaches teaching a scheme that was successful in today’s football,” writes King. ”And he didn’t care about playing time, at least not immediately. Getting back into a locker room with a solid core of players was more important.” King continued, “That’s why the signing of Vick by the Eagles Thursday night makes more sense than Vick to almost anywhere else.”

FOX NFL insider Jay Glazer appeared on Dan Patrick’s syndicated sports-talk radio show the morning after the Vick signing was announced to share his thoughts. “Brilliant, absolutely brilliant,” Glazer said. “I would have signed the guy the day Roger Goodell said he was allowed to play.”

The immediate reaction isn’t all positive. The Philadelphia Daily News made no effort to hide their editorial feelings with their front page headline “In Bombshell, Birds Sign Michael Vick. Hide Your Dogs!“ If the News’ opinion of Vick was made unclear, the paper’s “What Were they Thinking” back page hammers home the point.

The Vick saga will continue as Vick makes his first appearance at Eagles practice, enters his first NFL pre-season game and the first time Vick sets foot into his first regular season game. With every pass he throws and every time he tucks the ball under his arm to take off using those amazing legs of his, the Vick story will grow.

Vick’s next test is a sit down interview on 60 Minutes with correspondent James Brown. It had been hypothesized by several experts in the media that NFL teams would wait until after the interview and gauge the reaction of viewers before moving forward on Vick.

Those experts got it wrong.

Vick will still have the chance to clear his name in the court of public opinion. But athletic talent and a guaranteed contract won’t help him on that one.

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A-Rod: The Neverending Story

Posted on 20. Feb, 2009 by John De Petro.

Contributing to Box Score Beat on the A-Rod scandal for the second time is John De Petro. De Petro graduated from the College of Staten Island in 2007 with a degree in communications/ journalism and now attends the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. He describes himself as a New York fan through and through, a “Yankee fan who would rather see the Mets win than lose.” De Petro dreams of one day being paid to cover the World Series.

My right leg feels a little bit longer today than it did Monday. That’s because Alex Rodriguez was pulling it all Tuesday afternoon.

A-Rod’s press conference earlier this week raised more questions than it actually answered. And as soon as the conference was over, ESPN, the New York tabloids, and every other sports news outlet went to work. We’ve all asked the same questions and they’re beginning to get answered.

Who is this cousin he’s talking about? Yuri Sucart, of course. Rodriguez tried not  to name names and get his cuz involved, but it was only a matter of time before someone dropped the dime. It took less than a day to get that news.

What is “Boli” anyway? Primobolan. Rodriguez reportedly tested positive for Primobolan and testosterone back in 2003. He admitted to the Boli positive test but said nothing about the testosterone. I’m sure that confusion will be cleared up.

“Can you really get this stuff over the counter in the Dominican Republic like Rodriguez says? Apparently not. In fact you can’t even get it in the Dominican Republic at all. The country’s official who regulates pharmaceutical policy says that the drug could not be legally sold over the counter or with a prescription.

The New York Daily News sent a reporter to the D.R. to buy some steroids. But while Boli was unavailable, the reporter was able to purchase testosterone in under 2 minutes.

“What’s the next bit of information we’re all going to find out about? Well, he has been hanging out with Angel Presinal, a trainer who has been connected to steroids and banned from clubhouses by every team in the MLB. So yeah, that’s not good.

Alex Rodriguez pled ignorance. He played the “I was naive” and the “young and stupid” cards, and the media didn’t buy it. It seems as if they were right not to. Every day since A-Rod told his story, the media has done its job answering those doubts. As I type, opening day is 44 days away. As the first pitch on a new season begins, the A-Rod steroid story looks like it’s not going to end any time soon.

Rodriguez dug himself into a hole (not “A-Hole” like the New York Post would say). It’s all on him.

But with shovel in hand, sports writers are all trying to help make that hole just a little deeper.

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Media Running A-Foul

Posted on 17. Feb, 2009 by John De Petro.

Box Score Beat welcomes writer John De Petro.

Today is without a doubt the most anticipated day in baseball’s spring training history. Alex Rodriguez is scheduled to arrive at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa Bay, FL sometime in the afternoon where he will answer questions for the first time since admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs.

Lately it seems as if no baseball writer or sports journalist can resist mentioning the much maligned Lightning-Rod, er, A-Rod in their pieces, whether the article is inherently about him or not.

Rodriguez made his way into the lede of ESPN.com writer Jerry Crasnick’s Feb. 16th column about the most compelling position battles going into spring training. That’s despite the fact that Rodriguez will be the Yankees 3rd baseman for the next nine years and his replacement is probably playing little league this year.

Yesterday NBC Channel 4 in New York posted the top six questions that will surely be answered during the press conference on their website. Now it’s necessary to read a Q&A without the A?

New $180 million dollar 1st baseman Mark Teixeira showed up for his first day as a Yankee one day early. MLB.com managed to keep A-Rod out of the first two paragraphs of its Teixeira coverage (although “human growth hormone” did make it into the lede).  The arrival of huge free agents into Yankee camp used to be big enough news. But that ceased to be case some time around February 16, 2004.

The fact is, steroids have changed the sports landscape forever. Alex Rodriguez, no matter what he does, will always be story. He is the biggest name in baseball. He screwed up. And as long as he does stupid things, journalists will write stupid articles about it.

Today the circus is setting up its tents in Tampa. Rodriguez’s arrival to the 2009 season has now become an appointment event for even the most marginal of sports fans. Will A-Rod actually say anything of note? Perhaps. But probably not.

We all know how his performance history in past big spots for New York. Now is the time for Rodriguez to really step up to the plate.

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