D-Train

Senior Project Reflection Paper: The D-Train

By: David Sacks

Both David Levine and I are huge fans of Mike and the Mad Dog, a sports talk show on every day on 660 AM. During some of our free periods or when we ate lunch together, we would argue about what they were discussing during the previous day’s show. David Levine proposed to me this past winter that we should try to do a talk show modeled after Mike and the Mad Dog for our senior project. I immediately thought it was a great idea, and told him that I was on board for it.

When we first conceived of the idea, we wanted to do a long show of about two hours. We thought that was a good length because we could cover every topic in sports and talk about things in more of a relaxed, conversation-like manner. We wanted to have a website and make the broadcast available to anyone who wanted to listen. During the winter and spring, whenever one of us thought of an idea for the show we would share it with the other. This was helpful because when it came time to write the proposal we already had the whole idea mapped out in our heads.

In early spring we met with Mr. Ragone to ask him to be our Senior Project Advisor, and happily, he agreed. We discussed our idea and he was very excited about it, but had a few concerns. He said that he thought two hours was way too long, and that we should condense it to about thirty to forty-five minutes, because there was no way to retain an audience for longer than that. Although I was disappointed because I wanted a while to talk about the many stories and scores in sports, I realized he was right and agreed to cut down the length of the show. We set up a website, customized the format and settings, and Mr. Ragone showed us how to record and upload a show onto our website.

When the project started, we were very raw. My speech was not good, and I used the phrases, “like,” “you know,” and “um” way too much. However, the show served as a good speech course, and I believe that by the final few shows the broadcast was crisper and more palatable. David Levine and I built a great rapport, and we were very comfortable conversing with each other. We made smooth transitions between topics and discussed topics in a succinct manner. I was especially surprised that we did not interrupt or cut off each other, and we were very cordial even when we disagreed.

At the beginning of the project, I only watched hockey and baseball. However, I started to try to watch every major sports event on a nightly basis. Furthermore, I started watching sports in a completely different way. Instead of watching for just entertainment value, I tried to memorize stats, specific plays, and game-changing moments. I also tried to remove my rooting interests and analyze games in a balanced manner. Every day I visited various websites and read articles and box scores to make our show more educational.

Our show has been more than I could have ever hoped for. We tried to market our show to a bigger audience by asking friends to tell their friends, sending e-mails to the conference folder saying that a new show was up, and creating a Facebook group that contained a link to our website and a description of the show. We also messaged every member informing them when a new show was up. We now have over 110 members in that group. We have gotten more listeners than I could have ever imagined. The most gratifying thing about the show is when students or teachers come up to me in the hallway and tell me how much they enjoy the show, ask when a new show is going to be recorded, try to argue with me about a point I made, or request that I discuss something on the show that I forgot about. I also love the fact that I can put the shows on my iPod and that the website will always be there for me to show people or and I listen to it some other time. Mr. Ragone has been a great advisor, enthusiastic and encouraging.

I hope our project demonstrates to people that if they spend the time to think of a project that they will really enjoy well ahead of the deadline, it can pay great dividends. I also hope that our project encourages other students to think outside of the box and do a Senior Project that is unique and genuinely fun. I am sad that our project has to come to an end, because I truly want to continue the project and look forward to recording each episode. Most nights before we record a show, I have trouble sleeping because I’m thinking of what to say on the show the next day. I am grateful to everyone who helped us in this process, especially Mr. Ragone who has been invaluable. Without him, this project would have been seriously compromised.

The Yankees finally fired their conditioning coach, following the injury to Philip Hughes. Today we spoke about his ineffectiveness and just hours after we recorded our show the Yankees fired him. Here’s a link to the article that talks about his firing.

Click here for article

Michael Vick has been under investigation since police found malnourished and scarred dogs at his home. Police say he did not take good care of the animals and had them fight each other. This is not the first time Vick has been in trouble. Last year, he was fined for giving the middle finger to the Atlanta fans and tried to sneak a water bottle with Marijuana onto a plane.

Click here for the article

third show

Here’s our latest show. Today we discussed the Yankee’s latest woes and the Mets win. We also analyzed the second round of the NHL playoffs, the NBA games, and the NFL draft.

Here’s the article we were referencing about Sebastian Telfair: Sebastian Telfair Article

Here we go again—let the drama begin. Spring training has just kicked off, and we have already been bombarded by the A-rod-Jeter controversy and how it will thwart the Yankees in their attempt to end their six year draught.

Isn’t this just getting ridiculous? These guys are unbelievable athletes that are making 20 million dollars a year—does it really matter what happens off the field and in the clubhouse?

Unfortunately, however, for A-rod and Jeter and every Yankee fan out there, the answer to these questions is yes. While Alex Rodriguez is probably the most talented Yankee since Mickey Mantle, he is shockingly fragile and even more sensitive. There is probably not a player in any sport that allows pressure to get to him like A-rod does. And when he’s slumping, he only digs himself a bigger hole when he talks to the media. Rodriguez comes off as stupid and overconfident in his interviews, never accepting responsibility for his play and trying to cast his 0-4 with two errors as another “off day.”

However, although I could spend all day bashing A-rod for his abominable postseason performances and his cowardly behavior, I believe that this issue starts and stops with Jeter. Jeter is the Yankee captain—he is their leader, their poster boy, and represents what a great athlete is all about. His leadership and maturity are probably even more impressive than his on-the-field heroics, and thus the buck has to stop with him.

In years past, Jeter has come to the aid of numerous teammates, most recently Jason Giambi after the whole world seemed to be against him during his steroids scandal. Jeter came out and told Yankee fans to get off of Giambi’s back, and said that they would need Giambi if they wanted to win another world championship.

Granted, Jeter did not have this kind of rocky history with Giambi that he has now with Rodriguez. Jeter has not seemed to have gotten over A-rod’s comments in Esquire Magazine in 2001, where the Yankee third basemen said that Jeter could not carry a team and that he was not responsible for the Yankee dynasty. Said Rodriguez, “Jeter’s been blessed with great talent around him. He’s never had to lead. He can just go and play and have fun. And he hits second—that’s totally different than third and fourth in a lineup. You go into New York, you wanna stop Bernie and O’Neill. You never say, Don’t let Derek beat you. He’s never your concern.” Clearly, time has proved A-rod horribly wrong and immature, and it is only human nature to hold a grudge against someone when they make comments like that. But this is bigger than a grudge, this is bigger than whatever bitterness Jeter feels and the issue is certainly more important than he is playing it out to be.

While being interviewed on the first day of spring training in Tampa, Jeter seemed irritated by questions concerning his relationship with A-rod, and repeatedly said that it was a non-issue—it doesn’t affect what they do on the field. But the Yankee captain is sorely mistaken. The fact that he has not gotten behind his teammate and defended him in the face of glaring criticism and scrutiny speaks volumes about how Jeter just does not seem to care if A-rod struggles—it’s almost like he sees this as an opportunity at revenge. For a player that defines and sets the standard for classiness on a ballfield, this is—without any hyperbole—by far and away his most immature moment as a Yankee.

Jeter has to find it in himself to do the right thing and put this unnecessary saga on the backburner. Whether he likes it or not, his team needs Rodriguez to perform when it counts, the Yankees need A-rod to come up big in the postseason. Throughout his whole life, Jeter has been the bigger man, and we have praised him for it. He needs to be it again—now more than ever—or Rodriguez will continue to fold at the hands of the ruthless New York faithful.

Don Cherry, who hosts Coach’s Corner for Hockey Night in Canada, will be part of the broadcast team for the this year’s Stanley Cup finals. Cherry is a controversial figure, often criticizing French-Canadians, Russians, and players who wear visors. Here is an interesting and informative feature that ESPN did earlier this year on Don Cherry.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=doncherry