Age Regulation Questions

The topic of age regulations for professional leagues has been debated for years. In order to develop a feature on age regulation, it is important to discuss both the philosophical ideals behind the regulations, as well as the facts of their impact.

Many of these questions would require extensive research and talking to multiple sources, but I would look to answer these general questions in my feature.

When did NBA and NFL age regulations begin? Who was the driving force behind them?
What is the main idea behind these regulations?
How many athletes would be ready for professional play out of high school?
How does leaving early for professional leagues effect graduation rates at premier college programs?
Which NCAA school has the most players utilizing the “one and done” protocol?
How many players in the NFL and NBA have college degrees?
What percentage of players go back to college during or after their playing career?
How do top high school and collegiate athletes feel about age regulations? Do they generally want to get a college degree?
What are the other options for players to wait out the age regulations if they do not go to college?
How would eliminating age regulations effect the quality of college sports?
What does the typical NFL or NBA player do for a living after their career? Is a college degree usually necessary?
How do other sports, like baseball, handle age regulations and draft restrictions?

More #LochMess

While Ryan Lochte is the easy culprit to target in this incident, in my previous post I made an emphasis on the media that surrounded him blowing over the story once the truth came out.

Sticking with that theme, I think there is a story in how the coverage was handled. Some journalists inserted their own opinion whether it be via Twitter, a column, or on broadcast coverage. I am interested in, in this case, how journalists chose what to report and if their personal opinion effected their coverage once the REAL truth came out.

Here are some questions:

What did your coverage of the Ryan Lochte include?
Did you have a personal opinion on what the consequences should be?
Did you voice your opinion? To whom?
What is your opinion?
Did you read the apologies and statements from all four swimmers?
What were your thoughts?
Did you watch Ryan Lochte’s interview with Matt Lauer?
Why did you or did you not choose to bring Conger and Bentz’s innocence to light?
If not, were you simply tired of reporting on the story? Or did you feel a certain way about how clicks would come to your site?
Did you continue Olympic coverage post- Lochte story or did you simply end there?

I think so many of the questions depend on how these are answered, but this is a starting point.

NBA L2M Report – Question

When the NBA started its Last 2 Minute Review program in February 2015, the goal was to increase transparency in officiating. The reports tell you what calls the referees missed in the last two minutes of a close game. In essence, they retroactively assess what should’ve happened without actually righting any wrongs.

Here are some questions the league should consider before the start the 2016/17 season regarding the practice:

Why not let the referees talk to the media after the game? If the goal is transparency, why not let the refs speak up for themselves over controversial calls.
Would you consider retroactively changing the outcome of a game decided at the buzzer?
How is this improving the quality of the NBA product?
Can the refs appeal any call deemed incorrect after the reports are handed out?
Who are the individuals reviewing and editing report ? Do they have extensive officiating experience, like Steve Javey?

Lochte questions

1. Who is Ryan Lochte?
2. How does Lochte’s demeanor help explain what happened in Rio?
3. What is Lochte’s relationship with the other swimmers he was with?
4. Why did he feel the need to initally embellish his story, regardless of the extent?
5. Does Lochte have a history of this type of behavior?
6. What is Lochte’s relationship like with USA Swimming, and are there prior examples that might help illuminate this?
7. Are there other examples of the American public turning on an athlete as quickly as this?
8. What was Brazil’s role in perpetuating this story?
9. What were the problems coming into the Games in Brazil?
10. Was the incident involving Lochte seen as a way by Brazil to distract from some of the problems of the Games?
11. Lochte and Michael Phelps are often compared in the pool together — how are they different off it? Similar?
12. What has been the fallout from this story, and what other stories have emerged from the initial incident?
13. Might the fleeting nature of the Olympics aid Lochte in helping this story go away?
14. What is Dancing with the Stars?
15. Why does Lochte feel the need to stay in the spotlight by appearing on television so soon after the incident?

Questions about FBS teams scheduling FCS opponents

My topic would be about FBS football programs scheduling non-FBS teams.

In recent years, the importance of playing a top-tier schedule has never been more important due to the College Football Playoff, which puts a lot of value in a team’s schedule. As a result, a debate about playing lower-level opponents such as teams in the FCS has become more prevalent than ever. There is one side of the argument which says playing FCS schools is unnecessary and a weak exploitation of teams that need the money. The Big Ten Conference, for example, has made a rule outlawing FCS opponents.

On the other side of the argument is the FCS programs who need the six-to-seven figure deals to play FBS programs and subsequently pay for other athletic endeavors. There are also FBS head coaches, such as FSU’s Jimbo Fisher, who argue that playing FCS teams can help the sport of football altogether.

My questions would be:

– How long have FBS programs been scheduling FCS opponents?

– How many times have FCS schools defeated FBS programs?

– Had the frequency of FCS opponents been going up prior to the College Football Playoff?

– During the BCS era, was there any correlation between an FBS team’s success on a national level and the number of FCS opponents they played in a given year?

– What is the budget of the average FCS team that doesn’t schedule FBS opponents compared to those who do?

– How often had the Big Ten Conference’s teams been playing FCS opponents compared to the other Power 5 conferences?

– Jimbo Fisher said there is a trickle-down effect that helps FCS and Division II programs generate needed revenue. How accurate is that statement?

Questions about Fugees Family

Topic: Fugees Family soccer program

These are the questions I would use to guide my search as to why Clarkson is a refugee resettlement town and how Fugees Family affects those in the community.

Why Clarkson? What made this city become a hub for refugee resettlement?
What are other similar refugee resettlement towns in the United States?
How many children participate in sports in Clarkston? More, less or about the same as comparable Georgia towns? (This might be hard to quantify.)
What value do the parents see in having their children play on a sports team?
When was Fugees Family created?
Why was Fugees Family created?
How many different home nations are represented on Fugees Family team?
Are the coaches also refugees? If not, how did they get involved with this program?
What led to Fugees Family expansion into academic programs?
Are there negative or positive effects of students attending school only with refugees?
What are the guidelines for being a member of Fugees Family team?
How do sports play a role in refugee resettlement?
Are there similar teams in other parts of the United States?
How many of the athletes have played soccer prior to Fugees Family?
What are the benefit of having all coed teams?
What are the time and financial requirements involved with being on the Fugees Family team?
What was the impact of having a refugee Olympic time this year in Rio?

Feature Questions

Feature story on Gabby Douglas:

How were your experiences at this summer’s Rio Olympics different from your first Olympics in London?
How were they different?
Was your mindset and goals different in this year’s Olympics?
How do you prepare for your events (physically & mentally)?
Did you train any differently?
How do you respond when the media and fans criticize your looks and how you carry yourself?
How do you deal with the attacks? Do they haunt you?
You and your teammates seem pretty close knit, how do they respond when you’re criticized?
Are you able to turn to them when you feel attacked or overwhelmed?
What are some misconceptions or misunderstandings about yourself that you would like to clear up to critics?
Do you think the media would be easier on you if Simone Biles wasn’t in the picture?
Biles came on the team and seem to take the world by storm just like you did four years ago, do you think the media would be easier on you if Simone Biles wasn’t in the picture?
Does she responsible for the media attacks?
How did you family and friends respond to the media attacks?
Do you think the media took away from your success throughout the years?
After your success at the London Olympics you received amazing publicity and sponsorship including a Barbie doll and a movie, do you think Biles will get the same?
Were you satisfied with your performance in this year’s Rio Olympics? What about your team’s performance?
As you end your Olympic career, are there any regrets or anything you would’ve done differently?
Where will you go from here? What are your future endeavors?

Questions for Lochte Gate

This is how I think I would have approached Lochte Gate:

Ask for the time, date, location of incident, and those involved – What type of gas station was it? What time did it happened? Where is the gas station location? Who were present at the event? Swimmers and everyone else in the general area.
Obtain security camera footage — Could we obtain a copy of the surveillance footage of that night?
Get a statement from Ryan Lochte or his publicist — What happened as you remember it? Why do you think what happened, happened? Did anything provoke them?
Validate statement from Ryan Lochte’s mother – What did your son tell you? How did he phrase it?
- note that she was not present during the alleged robbery
Get statements from USOC and IOC – Why do the USOC and the IOC comments about the situation contradict each other? Is one committee covering something or does one not have all the facts?
Interview those involved in situation and or obtain statements from the representatives of the swimmers — (asking Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, or Jimmy Feigen) What happened that night? Why were you at the gas station? What started everything? Was a gun really held to Ryan’s head? How much of Ryan’s statement coincides with what you saw?
- There was little to no reason to obtain a statement from Micheal Phelps, he was not directly involved in the situation
Interview police and determine severity of damaged property — How did the police obtain the necessary information to take their stance? Did they just talk to the people in the gas station? Did they talk to the swimmers as well?
Assess why there was a gun in the first place — Why was there a gun? What are the laws concerning carrying a gun in Rio?
- note law differences about gun control in different countries
Once all of the information is then gathered and verified, write the story