Author: stephpayano
Thank You.
To keep it PC, I have experienced a lot of less than thrilling classes in college that make me question why my family is paying thousands of dollars for me to take.
*cough* Accounting *cough*
But when I saw that sports media was going to be available as a class this semester I screamed. I finally can take a class that is exactly what I want to do with my future. Never in my life have I ever been so excited for school.
One thing I will always keep in mind from this course is the need for preparation. Going into a game or a press conference and trying to make up a good story when you know nothing beforehand makes your life hell for those couple of hours.
For example, writing a press conference story on Dontre Wilson when you didn’t ask him any questions, you don’t know much about the guy, and you don’t have many quotes from other people about him? Not my brightest moment.
But it’s moments like that that better prepare you for the future.
In my opinion, journalism is not something someone lectures you about—it’s something you have to experience to learn. I have learned more in this one class than any other I’ve take at Ohio State.
I honestly don’t feel like anything about this course should change. While the constant project deadlines were obviously overwhelming, it’s something everyone who is going into the field of sports media will have to get used to eventually.
I feel blessed that I even have the opportunity to go to a school where a class like this is even an option and way more blessed someone like Nicole Kraft was my teacher. Thank you for always pushing us to be our best and not putting up with our BS.
Sports Will Never Be the Same After This Election
As more people become politically aware of topics that were once pushed to the side, no one is safe from scrutiny anymore. The line between what’s not allowed in the everyday world and what is allowed in the tiny sports world bubble is quickly diminishing.
Sports were once a safe haven where people could forget about their problems but not anymore. People are tired of treating franchises and athletes like gods. Just because someone is famous doesn’t mean they can get away with doing things that wouldn’t fly elsewhere.
People are finally seeing those athletes for what they are—just people.
We are in an era where we realize athletes should not receive special treatment for their talents. If a “star swimmer” rapes a woman behind a dumpster, he’s no longer a “star swimmer”. He’s a rapist. The headlines should address him as such.
We are also in an era where athletes are starting to realize the power they hold over the public. Colin Kaepernick and Lebron James coming out about their beliefs is something that has really impacted both the political and sports climate. Kaepernick has created a movement that transcends football and has influenced athletes of all sports to take a stand against institutionalized racism.
Even something as simple as Serena Williams talking about her personal experiences with the police and how she’s scared of how her family might be affected is powerful. It takes away the barrier between celebrity and regular citizen.
It shows that anyone can be affected by what’s going on in society today. No matter what their social status is.
In a climate where a bigot is running for president, it’s especially important for people to speak out against wrongdoings. Domestic violence, for example, is something that is prevalent in this country; particularly in sports. It’s important, now more than ever, for people to shine a light on athletes who assault their wives and children and say that isn’t acceptable.
The sport and political climate in America will only continue to be intertwined post election.
If, for whatever reason, America lands in the hands of Trump, there will probably be way more athletes coming from all different directions to discuss political issues. If we land in the hands of Hillary, we’ll be much better off from a social issues standpoint. But either way after this election, the tie between sports and politics will only continue to grow tighter.
The Sacrifices to Live Your Dream
It’s the fall of 2001 in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Hector Leon and Viviana Peña finally arrive at home at 6 p.m. and are welcomed after a long day of work by one of their daughters, Valeria. While they enjoyed seeing Valeria and her sister, Karina, when they came home, it saddened them to see their children not being active after school hours.
They both decided the pair needed to participate in something to keep them occupied every day. It could have been anything. So Valeria and Karina decided to try their luck with volleyball. From that moment, Valeria knew in her heart that this is where she needed to be. “When I first stepped on the court and I touched the volleyball,” Leon said, “I knew right away. I fell in love with it.”
As the years went on, Leon became more and more dedicated to perfecting her craft. But despite all her successes in Puerto Rico, she still felt she would not cut it in America. Leon’s mother, Viviana, was the one to repeatedly push the conversation of her leaving Puerto Rico to pursue volleyball at the highest level. It was not until she participated in AAU’s in Orlando, Florida that Leon realized her dreams could very well become a reality. There, many American universities showed interest in her talents as a libero—including Ohio State.
Of course, leaving your home country for four years is no easy feat for anyone, especially with a family as tight-knit as the Leons. It was tough for Leon to leave everything she has known and her family to travel to a foreign country to pursue her dreams. She knew she would be missing many important moments in the lives of her loved ones. But a family like theirs does not unravel that easily. In fact, Leon’s physical distance from her family has only brought them closer.
“I love my family with all my heart and I miss them everyday,” Leon said. “Although it breaks my heart to think that I’ve missed some special occasions such as Father’s Day, my sister’s graduation, plenty of birthdays; they are the reason why I wake up every day with the mentality of being a better student, athlete and person. They are my rock and my support system.”
Moving to the U.S. presented other challenges for Leon as well, such as the obvious language barrier. Growing up mainly speaking Spanish, she was not as proficient in English as her future teammates would be. It affected her in her every day life even in ways a native English speaker would not even think of. After months of meeting with a tutor for eight hours a day to keep up with her schoolwork, Leon was finally able to put together complete sentences.
“Some days I wouldn’t eat because I was afraid to order food,” Leon said. “and I didn’t want people to make fun of my accent. But I had people around me that helped me a lot through the process and they made it less painful for me, which that’s something I’m really thankful for.”
From the day of her freshman debut at Ohio State, Leon gave it everything she had. She played in every match her freshman and sophomore seasons and went on to be an Ohio State Scholar-Athlete every single year. On top of climbing the ranks of OSU history in several different statistics such as total digs and digs per set, she has also earned Academic All-Big Ten honors since her sophomore year.
Now as Leon enters her final season, it’s all setting in this will be her last time around the block as an Ohio State Buckeye. However, she tries to keep that all in the back of her mind and focus on the here and now. She wants to focus on being remembered for something more than just her numbers on the stat sheets.
“I want to be able to leave a legacy,” Leon said. “I want my teammates to remember me as someone who played the game the right way, with passion and heart.”
She has grown to touch the hearts of those around her; including her coach, Geoff Carlston, who has seen her grow as an athlete and a person. While he is proud of her accomplishments, he does not want Leon to get too caught up in her last moments. Carlston wants to make sure these last couple of matches are still filled with plenty of enjoyment for all the seniors.
“I’m really happy for her,” Carlston said. “It’s a big deal for her and her family to be able to see the names she’s passing on that list. It’s kind of the who’s who of volleyball history. We’re trying to get the most out of her and make sure she’s enjoying the experience. The last thing I want is for the seniors to put a lot of pressure on themselves about ‘this is the last this, this is the last that’ and keep them enjoying the journey.”
One of the biggest names on that list is Stacey Gordon, a former Buckeye who Leon looked up to when she was a young athlete. Gordon currently holds the school record for total digs (1,572) but Leon is right on her tail with a total of 1,537 digs in her career so far.
With the Ohio State women’s volleyball senior night coming up in November, Leon will soon be officially hit with the reality of her last game at St. John Arena. But as that last volleyball hits the floor and her career comes to a close, she will not be alone. For in that bittersweet moment, her family will be in the stands, cheering her on, having flown in one last time to see her play in scarlet and gray.
“It wasn’t an easy choice for me and when I left Puerto Rico I felt like I left a big part of me. It was so heart breaking but so worth it.”
Here’s Why Cleveland Needs to Win it All
Fate would have it that the two teams with the longest droughts of a World Series championship will possibly come together on Tuesday for Game One of the “Battle of the Cursed “at Progressive Field.
However, if the Chicago Cubs keep playing like they have been against the LA Dodgers, they might hit their 71st year since even showing their faces at the World Series.
Luckily for all Tribe fans out there, Cleveland just secured their place at the World Series on Wednesday against the Blue Jays.
Here’s the main reason why the Indians need to win this series—this drought is much bigger than them. For whatever reason, 2016 has been the year of Cleveland. Lebron James and the Cavs finally got it together to end the 52 year championship drought for the city so now it’s the Indians’ turn to deliver.
Thankfully, Cleveland is home to an incredible athlete that is talented enough to basically be single-handedly responsible for bringing a championship to the city. So now that one team has cracked the system, Cleveland sports teams have no reason to not win titles.
Maybe not the Browns though. That’s a tragedy even Lebron can’t fix.
The fact of the matter is, right next to definition of “loyalty” in Merriam-Webster, there’s a picture of Cleveland fans. I have never seen a more abused group of sports fans like Cleveland fans. Cleveland is a ride or die city. My advice to everyone is to marry someone from Cleveland because they’ll never leave your side. Nobody knows dedication like them.
Another reason why the Indians need to win this is because if they lose to the Cubs, that means the Curse of the Billy Goat will finally be broken. I don’t know about you, but I personally enjoy the crazy lengths people will go to make sure Chicago wins.
My personal favorite is when someone hung a butchered goat from the Harry Caray statue in October of 2007 and the Cubs went on to win the division title two years in a row. I mean that’s honestly just morbid but hysterical if you’re not a depressed Cubs fan. It just goes to show there’s no fan like a sports fan.
Honestly, it’ll be a win for Chicago to at least be featured in the World Series because even that streak is sad and embarrassing. Sorry, but the Billy Goat cursed the Cubs for an eternity. There’s no way they’re going to win a World Series for a very long time.
Do Not Be Afraid of Intimidation in Reporting
For young journalists working for their school newspaper, it’s easy to feel like you constantly have to walk on egg shells. If you write about a sensitive topic, you can receive backlash not only from the university but from the student body as well.
For those not in journalism, it’s easy to see us as the bad guy for reporting on topics others would prefer to keep on the down low.
In the case of Jillian McVicker, the story became more sticky because so many student journalists know her personally. She is more than another athlete who got an injury.
So in that sense, it goes beyond the university saying to censor the severity of injuries. It becomes “how can I write this story and not seem apathetic or invasive towards Jillian?”
But all that changed once Jillian decided to post about it on her social media. If I were the reporter who was hesitant to write that story, her tweeting about it would have been the green light for me.
This example goes beyond being a reporter. Let’s say a friend of yours had an injury happen to them and you are one of the few people who know. If other people ask you, you might be inclined to tell them because it’s big information that affects people. But you might also be hesitant to talk about it because it was not your injury and you fee like it’s not your place to tell.
The moment the injured friend comes out about their injury, it’s now free game. It becomes public information.
And what do journalists do? Report information to the public.
It’s understandable student journalists don’t want to cross the line if the university tells them not to write about something. However, the First Amendment stands strong here at Ohio State.
It’s upsetting to think oval preachers can yell about who’s a whore and who’s going to hell without the university saying something. But if someone from The Lantern wants to report on an injured athlete, all of a sudden OSU is like “okay well don’t talk about this part, don’t say this in that way, etc.”
It’s up to us as student journalists to tell relay information regardless of what other organizations try to cover up.
At the end of the day, our jobs are to tell people what is going on in the world; taboo or not. We cannot stifle ourselves because we may hurt someone’s feelings.
Ohio State women’s volleyball comes back to St. John after a long awaited return
For the Ohio State women’s volleyball team, it was the only homecoming that mattered. For the fans, it was the welcome back party everyone was looking forward to.
In their first real home match since last December, the Buckeyes (11-4) came out victorious against the Northwestern Wildcats (7-8) in a 3-0 sweep on Sept. 28.
The Buckeyes have spent the better part of this season away from their headquarters at St. John Arena. When not traveling across the nation, OSU has been calling Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus their temporary home as they hosted the 12th Annual Sports Imports D.C. Koehl Classic.
While the team had fun playing at Nationwide, it’s clear there’s no better feeling than being at home.
“Obviously an incredible atmosphere,” senior middle blocker Taylor Sandbothe said. “All of our Buckeye fans came out to support. But then just being at St. John Arena, I think it’s a really home-y place. We know the air in here. We know the temperature in here. Just having the opportunity to play in our home court and having that home court advantage is really good.”
OSU had been on the road this season for nearly a month. The team traveled to schools like North Texas, Ball State, and Missouri State to compete in invitationals where they dominated the competition.
The Buckeyes swept at two of the three invitationals and Sandbothe also earned Most Valuable Player at the North Texas Challenge during the match against No. 16 Texas A&M.
But after all that success abroad, even the coaches were excited to get back to the familiarity of Columbus.
“It’s great,” coach Geoff Carlston said. “I mean it’s fun to play in front of our people, in our locker room, and sleep in our beds the night before. Great environment as usual and fun to be here.”
The Buckeyes were not the only people happy for them to be back home. They have a big fandom made up of dedicated young women who consistently show up to all their home matches. It’s the icing on the cake to playing on their home turf.
“It was really nice to have that,” senior libero Valeria Leon said. “We were on the road a lot so it is just really nice having those young girls that look up to you and admire you. It’s really special.”
Coming into the game 0-2 in the Big Ten, the Buckeyes were relying on this to assert themselves this year in conference play. The first two sets went smoothly for OSU; finishing 25-21 in the first set and 25-12 in the second.
However, the third set posed a lot of problems for OSU. The Wildcats came out of the break switching up their style and started using the Buckeyes’ weaknesses against them. But OSU quickly caught on and made small changes to improve their defense.
“It wasn’t like we made any crazy adjustments. We made some really big plays at that 22/23 period. They were slapping that ball in the 15-foot line and we were back in the 20-foot line. I thought we made some really crucial plays and that was frankly an adjustment we were trying to make since halfway in the second set”
In a tightly contested third set, they were able to pull out on top in a 28-26 finish.
In case the Buckeyes needed any more motivation to put it all out on the line for the fans last night, the banner for their participation in the NCAA 2015 Sweet 16 was unveiled.
Including last year, OSU has now appeared in the NCAA Tournament 21 times in its 45 year history.
“It gave me goose bumps when I saw it,” Leon said. “Only 16 teams make it and there’s 300 teams in the nation so it’s nice to be a part of it and have that legacy of making that Sweet 16. That’s something we want to achieve this year too.”
OSU’s next step in their journey to the NCAA Tournament will be at 8:30 p.m. against Nebraska at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Four Reasons Why Ohio State Women’s Volleyball is Worth Your Time
Let me ask you something. When you think of your top two favorite Ohio State sports, which come to mind?
Most people would say football and basketball; in that order. That’s not necessarily a bad thing either. They’re the most publicized sports for the Buckeyes and they’re the only two even students have to pay to watch live.
My answers are a little different though. Don’t get me wrong, Ohio State football is still number one in my heart. However, there’s another sport that’s just as special and doesn’t get all the credit it deserves.
Women’s volleyball.
These Buckeyes are not ones to sleep on. Let’s take a look at the four reasons why you should be paying attention to OSU women’s volleyball.
1. Valeria Leon
Senior libero Valeria Leon has been climbing the ranks of Ohio State record history in multiple categories since her sophomore year.
In her first season as OSU’s primary libero, she ranked sixth in digs in a season with 482. Her average of 3.54 digs per set also helped ranked her at 14th in school history.
By the time her junior year ended, she earned Ohio State’s Defensive Player of the Year award and set an all-time school record by averaging 4.31 digs per set.
Leon only continued to exceed her own standards by twice breaking the OSU rally scoring digs record with 32 against No. 14 Florida State and then again with 35 against No. 13 Arizona.
She began this season ranking third in OSU history for digs per set (3.33) and seventh in total digs with 1,266. As of the Buckeye’s last game vs. Northwestern, she now has 1,494 digs; meaning she’s currently less than 80 away from breaking the school record.
Leon has played in every single set since her freshman year; now totaling a whopping 447 sets.
2. Taylor Sandbothe
Senior middle blocker Taylor Sandbothe is also no stranger to setting records of her own.
Coming into this season, Sandbothe ranks in the top six for five different OSU records including second in blocks per set and solo blocks, third in total blocks, fifth in block assists, and sixth in attack efficiency.
Sandbothe isn’t just a key player at Ohio State either.
She also participated in the Big Ten’s first ever Foreign Volleyball Tour where she travelled and competed in many different European countries including Croatia and Italy.
Earlier this season, Sandbothe earned the first Big Ten Conference Player of the Week in 2016. Thanks to this, she has now earned Big Ten weekly accolades in every season of her career.
Sandbothe also earned Most Valuable Player at the North Texas Challenge during the sweep against No. 16 Texas A&M.
3. They’ve Been Killin’ It Away From Home
These Buckeyes just stepped foot back in St. John Arena for the first time since last December during the NCAA tournament.
The women’s volleyball team has had a temporary home down at Nationwide Arena for the better part of this season. When they weren’t downtown, they were traveling around the United States, kicking ass and taking names.
Before returning home to campus on Wednesday, Ohio State had gone 10-4 against opponents. Eight of which were 3-0 sweeps.
While in Muncie, Indiana for the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge, OSU made an 85 point gap from the competition.
The Buckeyes are now 1-3 in the Big Ten and No. 19 in the AVCA poll following their win against Northwestern on September 28th.
4. They Practically Live at the NCAA Tournament
Both literally and figuratively.
This year’s Division 1 Women’s Volleyball Championship will be played in Columbus, Ohio’s very own, Nationwide Arena. Yeah, the same Nationwide Arena the Buckeyes were playing at in September.
In the 45 years Ohio State women’s volleyball has been around, the Buckeyes have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 21 times. Nearly half the amount of time the program has existed.
In fact, the banner for their appearance at the 2015 NCAA Sweet Sixteen was just unveiled at their first real home game at St. John Arena on September 28th.
OSU has also made 15 NCAA Regional appearances and two NCAA National Semifinals appearances in 1991 and 1994
The Buckeyes haven’t won an NCAA championship yet but this could be the first year they do. You wouldn’t want to miss being a part of this team’s exciting journey.
Athletes should sit down to stand up for racial inequality
“The land of the free and the home of the brave.”
Yeah those lyrics are pretty accurate. If you’re a straight white cisgender male. But what about the American citizens who don’t fit those qualifications?’
Well, we’re shit out of luck. Especially if you’re a teenage black man.
Colin Kaepernick, the backup quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, has recently started a new movement in the NFL to stand against racial inequality—sitting down during the National Anthem.
Take it as you will. He’s being disrespectful, he’s just trying to get some attention because his career has fallen through, he doesn’t support the troops. Whatever excuse you want to say to cover up your latent racism towards black people. But there’s one thing we can all come to a consensus about with this situation.
Kaepernick is not lying.
Police brutality is a very real thing that’s going on in America and it’s systematically killing black youth. Just a few days ago, we lost a 13 year old boy by the name of Tyre King in Columbus, Ohio. My own backyard.
Things like this don’t seem real to people until it happens to them. It’s one thing to say Alton Sterling was killed by police in Baton Rouge and have it trending on news sites and the internet. It’s another thing to know a member of your community was killed when he didn’t have to be.
“Well the police said the kid had a gun in his waistband and reached for it. What was the cop supposed to do? Let the kid shoot him?”
Let’s put things into perspective here. Tyre King. A 13 year old boy who had a BB gun in his waistband was killed because a trained police officer, who should know how to deescalate a situation, felt threatened. Note that while King had a BB gun, he never fired it at anyone.
Austin Harrouff, a 19 year white guy from Florida, used a switchblade to kill two people and then started eating one of the victim’s faces. He refused to stop eating the bodies. The cops tasered him, released a dog on him, forcibly removed him but they still never shot him.
So how is it that a little kid who robbed someone with a BB gun gets shot at multiple times but an adult who murdered people and ate them for dinner didn’t get a single scratch on him? Institutionalized racism.
Athletes like Kaepernick, Megan Rapinoe, Brandon Marshall, and the many other who have taken a knee during the National Anthem are acknowledging the duty they have as public figures to stand up for what’s right.
Sports isn’t just a game anymore. There’s politics involved.
Black athletes especially have to realize the position of privilege they are in. No cop is ever going kill Cam Newton no matter what he does because he’s a big time athlete. So then players like him need to know they need to speak out and say something about what’s going on in America.
Just because it’s not happening to you personally, doesn’t mean it’s not happening at all.
Of course, the conversation becomes extra touchy when the 15th anniversary of 9/11 happened and some still didn’t stand for the National Anthem. But the National Anthem does not represent those who lost their lives because of 9/11.
It’s one thing to talk during a moment of silence. It’s one thing to disrespect those who still mourn their lost love ones. It’s another to honor both of those moments and still sit down for the anthem.
As far as I’m concerned, none of the players who sat for the National Anthem did either of those things. Just because it’s the anniversary of 9/11 doesn’t mean racial inequality vanished. We can still send our thoughts to those who died. But what about those who are currently dying by the hands of the police? Are they any less important?
The answer is no. In case you were wondering.
In for the Kill 