The celebrity of athletes: How athletes are marketing themselves off the field.

With more money and fame comes even more responsibility. The gauntlet runs from selfish to selfless and the latter of the two is in high demand. In this age of overpaid athletes, apparently a few of them didn't get the hint. Then again some had the concept or so we thought.; e.g. Tiger Woods. Athletes have always been more than willing to test the marketing waters by promoting a major company's or there own products giving it their own stamp of approval. Today most athletes are all about the money. It's true. Football players like Vincent Jackson of the San Diego Chargers have put themselves before their own teams by not playing until their contract is re-negotiated; at the peril of the entire team and franchise's season. It is this kind of selfishness that plagues the world of sports, although the selfishness in this case can also be attributed to the franchise not wanting to spend some extra money on one of their best players. However you look at it, there is an abundance of selfishness in sports today.

There are very few philanthropists left in the world of sports. The majority of athletes who give back to the people who support them or truly believe in sacrifice are those who come from a humble background. Dikembe Mutombo an ex- NBA star and defensive legend has repeatedly given back to his community  in the Republic of Congo. He has built schools and even a hospital that offers the same technology one would have at a medical facility here. This is indicative that he never has forgotten where he came from and the people who look up to him( I mean literally look up, he's 7'3"). We need more role models like Dikembe in sports. Athletes have the power to positively affect and change the lives of so many people- a gift that is underrated and sparingly used.

And then you have the crazies. Athletes like ex- New York Giants Reciever Plaxico Burress who carry guns around like wannabe gangsters who need "protection" from others. Burress ended up shooting himself in the leg and losing his career. Another example is Gilbert Arenas a shooting guard for the Washington Wizards. The Wizards gave Arenas a HUGE contract extension a few years back and he has played on average about 10 games out of the 82 that make up an NBA season. Then to add "insult to injury", he decides to play a prank on a teammate on his birthday involving a gun. Smart? Nope. Arenas was suspended the rest of the season without pay. These are the exact people you wouldn't want living next door to you and they are playing professionally in sports where millions of young people can absorb this unhealthy behavior.

Sometimes these athletes learn from their past trangressions. Sometimes they don't. O.J. Simpson is a prime example of NOT LEARNING. Growing up in the late eighties/early nineties as a child, I remember O.J. for his trial. Not the fact that he won a heisman while playing at the University of Southern California or the amazing NFL running back for the Buffalo Bills. This man got off of a pretty cut and dry murder charge on a technicality-a glove. A GLOVE saved him from spending the rest of his life in jail. I can still remember his lawyer Johnny Cochran's famous words "If the crime does not fit, you must equit." You would think someone who had been through that experience would have lived the rest of their life like a saint! But then again, athletes are always the exception. Simpson ended up being busted for an armed robbery of a guy who was selling HIS sports memorabilia. Absolutely idiotic. But there is always a story of redemption waiting to be written. Michael Vick, an NFL quarterback was busted for a dog-fighting ring being held at his house. He plead guilty and accepted his fate. He served a year in jail and was able to be picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles. He never blamed anyone but himself for his own actions and has been a model athlete since his return. He's also become one of the best quarterbacks in the league up until this point. His story will be told long after he's gone-even if he never wins a Super Bowl.

LeBron James - The Decision Full Interview 07/08/2010 (Part 1)

"Youtube Killed the Video Star"

Youtube has come a long way from being a source for everyones favorite commercials, video clips and music videos to the massive marketing and exposure tool it is today. I remember back in the day, let's say as late as the year 2000 or so, it seemed as though there were only two ways to make it big as a musician. 1. Know people in the music business. or 2. American Idol. Youtube has become a way to expedite the process of finding good musical talent through people posting videos of themselves singing, dancing etc.
The one instance that this became relevant to me was in 2008. Where the immortal classic rock and 80's band Journey used Youtube to select a new singer to replace long-time front-man Steve Perry. The band's success could ultimately be attributed to Steve's one-of-a-kind voice. So when I heard that they had found a new singer, I was extremely skeptical. But after listening to the new singer Arnel Pineda, the band was actually able to maintain their signature sound and their legacy. Arnel Pineda's voice is a carbon-copy of Steve Perry's. There must've been countless participants belting out "Don't Stop Believing" and "Wheel In the Sky", but through Youtube, one of the greatest rock bands of all time was able to find a replacement for arguably one of the best voices ever. And now bands can hold auditions for musicians to fill their bands needs by simply looking them up on Youtube. This means that all of the best musicians are out there competeing for jobs and making the music industry more competitive. This will ultimately strenghthen the music business and consequently produce better music.

Remember the newspaper? Take a closer look

The Baltimore Sun is part of a dying breed of media- the newspaper. In the last decade we've refrained from paying for the news that can be found free of charge on the web or t.v. Our current recession has increased this frugally-propelled trend. We've become "tech-drunk" with the easily accessible Internet. But do you remember the newspaper? Remember the crisp stack of newspapers flung to the sidewalk all held together by those two pieces of tightly-wound string? The anticipation comparative to that of Christmas morning-the most recent news to date just waiting to be unwrapped. Or maybe it was wondering what would make the front page. For me personally, it was the sports pages. But it wasn't just about reading the scores. A large part of it was the tangible feel of the paper on my hands. And the first hand accounts of the games and athletic events seemed completely genuine and unbiased. The Internet always felt more fabricated or that the facts could easily be tampered with. A newspaper is completely free of the opinions of idiot bloggers too. Make no doubt, the Internet is taking over. But rather than succumb to the inevitable, we should take a stand. If not for the jobs that newspapers provide then for the literary aspect. The Internet has put a stranglehold on the literary medias of book, magazines and newspapers. These were all valued once as the Internet is today. As we lose these mediums of storytelling, the number of authors and writers will start to decline making writing an obsolete form of record-taking. When we let computers do everything, individualism takes the brunt of the impact.

Magazines in the checkout line: Airbrush much?

Being taller than most certainly gives you a much different perspective than those around you have about the world and the people in it. As i'm standing in the checkout line of a grocery store I look around......at all of the people....different body types....different lifestyles....some looking for change or rejuvenation within their own lives-you can see it in their tired, lifeless, every-day-same-routine eyes....and then my attention turns to the magazines with the bright colors and perfectly symetrical models.
What is wrong with these depictions of sexy women and handsome men? Some say that the expectations are unrealistic for "normal" people. Normal people? Hmmmm.....let's see... what are normal people? Answer: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A NORMAL PERSON. This statement can be justified by a few reasons. First, every person is different or unique in there own way. Second, everyone's body is different both internally and externally. Third, these models, movie stars and athletes share identical characteristics with us: they breathe air, put their pants on one leg at a time, etc...... So why are the expectations of getting that "six pack" or "losing those extra pounds" unrealistic? They aren't. Everyone just has to follow different guidelines to obtain them.
The United States has been unanymously voted the most overweight country in the world, that's no secret. So if anything, these magazines are HEALTHY for our society to look at. There's nothing wrong with trying a new diet in "Women's World" or trying a new protein shake in "Men's Health". Some say these magazines are the source of anorexia and bulimia. The real cause of these eating disorders is the lack of education about the human body, nutririon and metabolism.EVERYONE has something that they want to change, wether they admit it or not.  And anyone who is satisfied with their life is dead, bereft of life. These are the perpetual potatoes of the couch and those who chose to drive to places within walking distance. And these are the people in the grocery store lines everyday in America.