Tuesday, May 28, 2013

What type of legacy will you leave?

By W.W. Brown

James Hawkins was loved by so many of his students because he was always willing to spend time with them. Which makes it fitting James Hawkins died about to do the one thing he was known for doing throughout his career — visit with a student.

Hawkins spent 35 years on the journalism faculty at Florida A&M University. The last eight years of his career were as dean of School of Journalism and Graphic Communication. He was the embodiment of “the college of love and charity.”



News of his passing hit me harder than any similar announcement in my life. It was a sucker punch to the solar plexuses that I wanted to believe was a rumor—the type of rumor Dr. Hawkins and other professors would have told us to investigate, but ignore.

The rumors were devastatingly true. Students, graduates, professors and so many others were stunned by the fact a man with such a huge heart was killed by a heart attack. Emotions reverberated around the J-School family faster than breaking news around Orr Drive because everyone had a story about how James Hawkins’ lessons touched them.

For a three semester period my grades plummeted. At other schools I would have been discarded, or ushered aside. At Florida A&M there were conversations with Dr. Hawkins and other professors to try and figure out the cause of my uncharacteristic academic performance.

When it came down to it, I graduated — barely.

Receiving my degree from Dr. Hawkins remains one of the happiest moments of my life.

Years after I graduated I would stroll into his office to shoot the breeze and see what was going on. Every time I did, Dr. Hawkins was always happy to see me and hear about how my life progressed.

He would ask about my girlfriend, who eventually became my wife; how my job was going; how I was doing. He was always eager to hear what I had to say, even if he had students waiting outside his door.

A move to Texas eliminated those infrequent visits. It had been a couple years since my last visit to Hawkins’ office.

The last time I went to the J-School, in January, Hawkins was retired. There was someone new in the corner office of the fourth floor of the still-to-be-named journalism building. Our conversation was cordial, but it wasn’t the same.

Trying to recreate what was so natural with the Dean— I was only at FAMU for a semester when Dean Robert Ruggles retired so Dr. Hawkins will always be “the Dean” to me — was not going to come easy. As the months went by, I once again realized just what a gem we had in Dr. Hawkins.

The first time I gave money back to the university that conferred a degree on me, and my father before me, was when I was told a scholarship was being endowed in Hawkins’ name. The minimum donation was $100. I gave a little more than that. It was the least I could do — give more in honor of a man who did that until his dying breath.

The official announcement came on Facebook, from an alumna who is now a Senior Producer at CBS News.

“He was traveling back from Atlanta this afternoon and decided to stop and have an early dinner with a former student in Macon, Georgia. We all know that is just one of the reasons we loved Doc. He kept in touch with all of us and made us feel special. He texted the former student at 3:18 to say he had arrived, but when he had not come inside the restaurant by 3:30, she went outside to look for him and found him unresponsive in his car.” 

As the swift and heartfelt reactions came in from classmates, friends and former Rattlers, I wound up liking the status of every person I knew who posted a tribute on social media. It was cheesy, but one of the few ways I knew to show them I was mourning with them.

In lieu of flowers, the Dean’s wife asked people to send donations to the James E. Hawkins Endowed Scholarship Fund. A donation would be a fitting way to continue the legacy of a man who gave everything for his students.


Laughs and liveliness,
-Wb

Monday, May 27, 2013

How long before the conversation returns to the field?

Another mercurial talent returned to MLS Sunday night when Robbie Rogers stepped onto the field for the Los Angeles Galaxy.

But the headline, for now, wasn’t Rogers’ on-field abilities. It’s been his whirlwind year where he announced he is gay, retired from soccer, only to return after realizing he had much to offer. Upon arriving in the game in the 77th minute the crowd warmly applauded Rogers like any other player.


 "No pressure at all coming in," Rogers told the Associated Press. "I got to totally enjoy myself and take it all in."
The Galaxy was soundly defeating Seattle 4-0 at that point, a perfect opportunity to introduce someone who had every right to be nervous, on a field that was home to one of the highpoints of his career.

Five years ago, the Home Depot Center was the same field that put the winger in my crosshairs as someone to follow in the years to come. It was the 2008 MLS Cup and Rogers was a young winger for the Columbus Crew. He was one of the three best players on the field that afternoon.

Rogers, when healthy, can play. Anyone who has watched him play knows it.

When Rogers announced he was gay in February, there was an appreciation, at least from me, for the raw honesty in his blog. The broader media gave Rogers a hat tip, but didn’t provide the context about an announcement of such magnitude. All the collective back-slapping was saved for a similar announcement 66 days later.

Sunday was a watershed moment in sports, because hardcore soccer fans have known the name Robbie Rogers for years. Those who do not follow the sport will soon realize he was a headline-maker on the field, long before his lifestyle usurped some of that attention.

"I'm back here kind of where I'm supposed to be," Rogers told the Associated Press Sunday night.

"It's crazy to me to think I stepped away from this game at 25," he said. "I'll sit in my bed tonight and thank God gave me the courage to do this and come back."

Upon reading Jason Collins’ revelation in Sports Illustrated that he is gay last month, the media chose to omit, or forget the sacrifices paved by Rogers, Glenn Burke and Dave Kopay. Instead there was a bonanza of coverage about “the first openly gay male in North American major professional sports,” or something of the sort.

However, the more I read and listened about Collins’ story, there was a part that wondered whether the announcement was all part of a PR bonanza to raise his profile.

Collins averaged 1.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and shot 31 percent from the field in the 10 minutes of action he saw last season in the NBA. Whether someone is 34 or 24, gay or straight, that is typically not good enough production from your backup center.

Rogers’ time away from Major League Soccer was blighted by injuries and ineffectiveness. Where he differs from Burke, Kopay and certainly Collins is his opportunity to not only be a “gay athlete,” or a “former professional athlete” but a “gay athlete” who happens to be a good at his job.
Sigi Schmid, who coached Rogers when he played for the Crew, and was Seattle’s coach Sunday may have said it best.

"It doesn't matter if you have a gay player on your team, it doesn't matter if you have a Jewish player on your team, it doesn't matter if you have a Baptist on your team," Schmid said. "I think we're becoming more cognizant that it takes all sorts of people to make this world go round, and we're a lot more accepting of that."

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Will the southeast ever see professional soccer?

Tuesday morning, Manchester City and the New York Yankees announced the two sports properties will have an ownership stake in the newest Major League Soccer franchise, New York City Football Club.

NYC FC will kick off in 2015 at a site to be determined. Tuesday’s announcement also means the southeast continues to not be represented by a MLS franchise.

Since the Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fusion folded in 2001 the league has not ventured southward for expansion. Leaving a gap in the soccer landscape in America, as MLS has done in the southeast, is not the best way to grow the game.

If an Atlanta resident wanted to see a MLS match they could drive nearly 9 hours to watch the Columbus Crew. Perhaps, the same Atlanta resident could catch a non-stop flight to either Houston or Washington D.C, if they were that dedicated.

Orlando City hoped to be the 20th franchise. Ownership was dealt a blow when the Florida Legislature didn’t bother to hear a bill that would all sports entities to compete for public financing dollars that could be used to fund a soccer-specific stadium in Central Florida, as well as other venues in the state, this spring.

Nevertheless, Orlando City ownership is optimistic about being in MLS by 2015.


The Lions, who currently play in the third-tier of American soccer, average nearly 8,000 people for each home contest in the dilapidated Citrus Bowl. For comparison MLS’ Chivas USA averaged 8,045 per home contest, according to mlsattendance.blogspot.com.

The Northeast, California, Texas, Canada and Cascadia all have multiple MLS teams. The Midwest region has a pair of league stalwarts in Chicago and Columbus. As Chivas proves, not every one of the 18 cities with a MLS club is drawing like Portland, Seattle and Philadelphia are.

“New York is a legendary sports town, as well as a thriving global city with a rapidly expanding soccer fan-base,” Ferran Soriano, CEO of Manchester City told mlssoccer.com. “We are thrilled to contribute to the energy and growth of New York City Soccer.”

That’s well and good, but, in 2012, the New York Red Bulls averaged 18,281 fans, which was 7 percent less than what the team drew in 2011.

Adding a second team in that market may help the league’s exposure. It may also expose the league to questions about why a metropolitan area with 19 million people cannot fill a stadium. Then again, the announcement received more than 500 comments on the league’s website, a lead headline on ESPN.com and discussion outside of the typical soccer circles.

We’ll find out in 2015 whether the hype and money invested in NYC FC was worth shutting out the southeast once again.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Have you spotted a Player in person?



By Will Brown

A perfect day for golf was the perfect time to catch one of Jacksonville’s longstanding sporting traditionsThe Players Championship.

The 40-minute wait in traffic outside of TPC Sawgrass was eventually worth it. As we walked in at the Fred Couples gate near the 15th tee a wayward sea turtle was nestled on the pine straw between a walkway and a culvert. As people, myself included, snapped pictures of one of the few things we were allowed to catch on camera the turtle struggled with the heat and the pine straw.

It was nearly 3 p.m. and temperatures were hovering around 80 degrees — not sweltering, but plenty hot enough.

The first group at No. 15 tee featured former Players winner Tim Clark and two others. Unbeknownst to us, a pair of former major championship winners was in the group after Clark’s.

Standing adjacent to the fairway at the 15th I snapped a few pictures and waited for the drives to come our way. The wait did not last long. Two-time major winner Angel Cabrera’s drive arrived from the spotless sky before landing less than 15 feet away from us.


My wife and I made a decision to follow Cabrera, Louis Oosthuizen and Derek Ernst for the next three holes, with the hopes of catching the famous 17th hole at TPC.


It was on the 16th fairway were I was introduced to the tournament’s Cell Phone Task Force, a group of people in white bibs who confiscated camera phones if people attempted to shoot pictures of the players. Interestingly enough this task force did not confiscate one man’s phone after it rang moments before Cabrera’s group teed off at No. 18.


Ernst struggled throughout the three holes we watched, Cabrera showed some of the form that led him to a playoff at The Masters this year. Meanwhile, Oosthuizen fell apart, bogeying the 17th hole, hitting his tee shot into the water at No. 18 and producing a quadruple bogey at the No. 18. It turns out Cabrera and Oosthuizen made the cut by a single shot.

It was easier to follow groups because a steward was kind enough to provide a copy of his program. In addition to a pairings, there was other information about the players, the tournament and the permanent bathrooms. (In the past, if nature called someone was reduced to using a Porta-Potty.)

The scenic clubhouse was in the distance, but it was a 400 yard walk neither of us wanted to make. Instead, my wife and I found a perch behind the island hole and watched the players at The Players.

Over the next hour eight groups came to the most raucous hole in golf.  Those watching the 10th toughest hole Friday were a combination of wealth (one nearby family had Hal Steinbrenner as a guest in their home); drinking buddies (a bet was made before every golfer teed off); college students and a lot of different people.

One Jacksonville television station facetiously asked whether anyone in Jacksonville went to work Friday, because a record 36,000 people attended Friday’s session.

Bubba Watson was just a few groups away, but we took a chance to go walk around and see other groups. The gamble paid off when we arrived off the edge of the 14th green to find Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy and Steve Stricker all within striking distance of the leaders.

McIlroy dapped up a young boy on the walk to the 15th tee. As much as the boy tried to hide his jubilation, a smile eventually crept out.

Moments later, when Scott’s drive whistled to the center of the fairway, one man, who clearly had a few beers, yelled “That’s an iron Mr. Scott. Surf’s up. Surf’s Up!” much to the amusement of the gallery.


Two hours after Cabrera’s drive nearly interrupted a conversation at No. 15, we made the decision to keep our heads on a swivel. Unfortunately, two fellas from NBC Sports did not. As they chatted inside the ropes, Striker’s drive came within 24 inches of hitting both of them. (Stricker’s ball wound up in the fringe. He, and his playing partners, made par at the 507-yard hole.)

Despite my run-in with the Cell Phone Task Force I clandestinely snapped a picture of the McIlroy, Scott and Stricker pairing at No. 17. Besides, after not seeing Tiger, or Bubba, I needed some photographic proof that I spent a weekday afternoon on the golf course.

After illegally photographing three Top 10 golfers it probably wasn’t the smartest idea to put the picture on Twitter along with the hashtag TheseGuysAreGood, but I did it anyway.

Even the golfers who were not household names made ridiculously difficult golf shots look easy. Watching how long and straight the world’s best could hit a golf ball made me understand the PGA Tour’s slogan was more than a marketing ploy, it was fact.

I woke up Friday morning wanting to see Tiger Woods. That didn’t happen. But, it will eventually. My first experience at The Players was exciting enough that I look forward to catching Tiger on the prowl again.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Does Sir Alex have any contemporaries?

We are quick to appoint the best of the present as the best of all time. It doesn’t matter the profession, or the circumstance, but our collective short-term memory leads to appointing people to the pantheon for simply being successful.


After winning the Champions League for the first time in 1999 Ferguson was quoted saying “football, bloody hell.” How else could one describe scoring two goals in injury time to pull out one of the most dramatic and stunning victories in European soccer?

The result against Bayern Munich may have been lucky, but the process to get there was not, which is the trademark of a great coach. Ferguson’s “Football, bloody hell” comment 14 years ago may be the easiest way to describe a career that featured winning nearly 50 trophies.

Though most of those trophies were won at Manchester United, but this is also a man who led a Scottish team, Aberdeen, to a European trophy in 1983. Yes, Aberdeen. Not one of the glamour clubs in Scotland, but Aberdeen.

When Ferguson’s team takes the field on May 19, it will be his 1,500th and final match with Manchester United. It’s an extraordinary tenure with any club, let alone one with high expectations.

For context, Ferguson has won more league championships (16) than Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Jupp Heynckes and Jurgen Klopp combined. That quartet of names was some of the popular choices thrown out in the media to replace the maniacal manager of Manchester.

Someone will be the next Manchester United manager. However, he will soon realize the sport has evolved tremendously over the last 35 years except in one area — Sir Alex’s way to will a team to trophies.
Even those with fonder memories than most will admit there is no replacing Ferguson.

Laughs and liveliness,
-Wb

p.s. How many managers would be allowed to go four years before winning their first trophy? Ferguson was special indeed.