The Competitive Sports that Go Unrecognized

Looking through the Morning Sun or CM Life Newspaper, everyday you’ll see sports stories about collegiate Division I teams here at Central Michigan University. Those teams are organized, competitive and individually picked collegiate teams equipped with coaches, some making six figures to ensure the team to victory.

However what you don’t often hear about is the successful athletic teams that also compete against other colleges, just like varsity athletes do. These athletes are involved in what’s called Club Sports.

CMU Club Baseball walk off with a win vs Northwood

A team that is still playing and is extremely successful is the CMU Club Baseball team. The team has won the GLC North Championship in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010 and is currently still playing to take the title again. In addition after the GLC North Championship they’ve gone on nationally to win the World Series in their division in 2002, 2004, 2008 and 2010.

The team starts their season out when school resumes in the fall and then takes a break until spring break where the travel to Florida to get loosened up with Spring Training. While down south the team plays 5-7 games before returning to Michigan and starting their regional season here.

Starting player, Kevin Zaborowski said “We have a lot of fun on the team. We throw a lot of parties to raise money for our trips and games and even though it’s fun the level of commitment and competition is still high.”

Though the baseball team didn’t get to play many of the early season games due to high amounts of rain and snow, they’re still managing to make it into Regional playoffs with a record of 9-7.  This year the team is 2-0 against U of M and 1-2 against MSU. In addition they’re currently 1st in the division.The teams next game is Friday, May 6 vs the University of Michigan.

“We have had really good pitching and our hitting has been up at the times we’ve needed hits. The team has had a fast start winning all of our series up until last weekend when we lost two to MSU,” said infielder Joey Ventimiglia.

CMU’s Club baseball team is in one of the most competitive divisions in all of club baseball. Their is six teams in the Great Lakes North Division, when others only have two or three.

Ventimiglia said, “the pitching between our regions teams are probably the best in the division too, therefore the winning team is usually the one who is on their A game. Even though some of us could play D1 and players do come down from the Actual team sometimes so there is definitely D1 talent floating around our team and others we play.”

CMU Club Softball

Central Michigan’s Club Softball team is another one of many club sports CMU offers. Within it are a group of college young women who put together everything from fundraising to travel arrangements to out of state tournaments all by themselves.

The training, practices and scrimmages start within the first two weeks of school year including call-outs for new players. The season runs throughout the fall giving the team a break from Thanksgiving to January, when school resumes. From then on the team prepares for their real season in the spring where they face off against big named schools.

Kaitlin Starr, President of the Club Softball team said this year they’ve decided to hire a coach in aiding them to their goal of making it to the National Club Softball Association’s World Series (NCSA).

Star said “even though it’s not D1 athletics it’s still extremely competitive. We play teams like the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Bowling Green, Grand Valley….. However, even though it’s competitive we still get the leisure of having a life outside of softball.”

Despite the Club Softball team’s success in former years their season sadly came to an end this weekend after tying to the University of Indiana South Bend. The team did not making it into the playoffs due to a record of 6-12 and ERA of .33.

Despite little recognition and support from the school, both teams strive to not only get the best players available but players that will be committed to the team just like it was a Varsity sport.  Each of them are student run and organized through the recreation center on campus. Central Michigan University has over 20 Clubs Sports to get involved in. Sports range from fencing to karate, to volleyball or even swimming.

Even though they might not be recognized each club team is successful in their own way.

Special thanks to Joey Ventimiglia, Tom Howard, Kevin Zamborowski and Kaitlyn Starr.

For more pictures of the CMU Baseball or softball team visit my Slideshow

Volunteering in a Humane Way: Video Project JRN 340

Every year the Isabella County Animal Control unit brings in over 3000 animals that have been abused, neglected, a family could no longer care for and/or is a stray.

The goal of the shelter is to “enforce all county ordinances, state and federal laws. To house and humanely care for all animals until claimed, adopted or provide the most compassionate and humane means of euthanasia.”

Everyday dozens of local families, students and animal lovers come into the shelter to simply volunteer their time in helping the animals. People can do easy jobs like walking dogs or brushing the cats to jobs that entitle them to get a bit dirtier.

Either way, people come to the shelter daily to care for the animals while they’re looking for a home.

Central Michigan University student Sarah Ferdig has been coming to the shelter since the Fall of 2010 after volunteering to walk dogs for her sorority. She now comes willingly once a week to care for the dogs and cats.

A few months ago she even brought home a yellow lab mix for her and her roommates named Spot.

Central Michigan University student Michael Galinac also has been coming to the shelter for some time to take on similar tasks. Galinac walks the dogs, grooms the cats, and even cleans the cages/kennels.

He comes to the shelter because he loves helping animals and isnt use to not living with ones here in Mt Pleasant.

The shelter is a great place for students and families to volunteer their time for a good cause.

The shelter is located at 1105 S. Isabella Rd, Mt Pleasant ¾ of a mile North of Pickard Rd.

Couponing Books: The Best of a Buyers World

Do you like to save a little money around the Mt Pleasant area? Use the CMU Bookstore Coupon book like Theresa!

Cheerleading: The talented and the uncoordinated. A video analysis

Sunday March 27, Fox News posted a video about a mother who is suing an unnamed cheerleading organization after her daughter shattered her elbow at a Cheerleading day camp.  The video opens up with footage of youth, collegiate, and professional cheerleaders doing a variety of stunts and tumbling passes. In addition the anchor opens up telling viwers that 66 percent of all sports injuries are from cheerleading.

The story of the accident and mother suing isn’t introduced right off the bat. In addition the story isn’t character driven.

The organization of the story is somewhat jumbled. There isn’t a clear beginning, middle and end. The story opens with statistics, then goes into the accident, then a legal panel discusses whether or not the mother has a case or not, then statistics of ER visits from cheerleading,  then details of the injury and information about the day camp, followed by the legal panel finishing up with their sides.

My stunt group from back in High school doing a Scorpion OLE Stunt

The first thing you hear and see is the anchor but its only for two seconds. Then footage of  a kick-twist basket toss, toe-touch basket toss, round off back-handspring full, and scorpion one-legged extension is seen. All of this was effective in getting my attention because I know a lot about cheerleading since I am a cheerleader myself.

The lack of natural sound however made the video boring. I would have liked to hear the counts that coincide with stunting, the sound of the tumbler’s hands/feet hitting the spring floor or the sound of cheers. Music was also not used in this featured video but music wasn’t needed. The only area I could have potentially seen as a music bed was during the shots of stunting and tumbling. Other than that music wasn’t needed along with the on-camera personnel telling the story.

The story is mainly told by an on-camera reporter as well as a legal panel to assist in telling viewers whether or not the case will make to to court.

Pike basket toss from my high school stunt group

There is a variety of shots in the means of a variety of stunts, tumbling passes, teams, graphics and statistics. Most of the video however is the on-camera reporter talking to the lawyers making it rather boring.

Throughout the video, lawyers are identified as Michael Reagan and Angel Reyes but the on-camera journalists is never mentioned verbally or through text.

There wasnt many transitions, everything just flowed together at a good pace. Graphs and videos of cheerleading were at an appropriate pace for viewers to watch/read what was being displayed.  In addition their wasnt anything jarring in the way the video was edited.

Overall I enjoyed the video clips of stunting and tumbling displayed at the start of the presentation. The clips drew me in and got me interested in hearing the rest of the story. Throughout the video I didnt like how much the lawyers were used. I would have liked to know more information about the injury, what the parents are sueing for exactly, and similar cases that have gone to court.

Due to everything the video lacked, I feel it wasn’t effective in reaching its goals. The story should open up about the camp and the injury then go into how complex cheerleading can be and then discuss the case. The story barely touches on exact details of the story.

Online Photojournalism Critique

ABC News is running a continuous story about the devastation and rebuilding going on in Japan they call “Disaster in the Pacific.” Everyday ABC shows numerous photographs that not only convey emotion but put across information through images.

An image I recently saw that caught my attention was of workers carrying a deceased body through the rubble of a village that was hit by not only the earthquake and tsunami but engulfed in fires. All around them you see the devastation that has happned due to the earth’s plates shifting.

The composition of this photograph is decent. The subject matter in this picture is off to the left giving you a view of the area around them and you see the trail wined behind them. In addition the picture is well balanced. Lastly the framing of the debris adds a good touch to the picture.

The image definitely impacts the viewer thoughts and emotions.

Another image that I saw that grabbed my attention is also from the disaster in Japan and it isn’t of people but of a destroyed school house with a Winey the Poo bear left behind covered in wreckage. This image conveys a lot of information to viewers. Just like the above picture it’s telling viewers a story of what the March 11 tsunami did and how much reconstruction will need to be done.

This second image demonstrates an even better composition than the first. The focal point is the bear. The debris behind it is out of focus. When you first see the image, your eyes naturally are attracted to the bear and then due to the linear lines in the debris you follow the lines throughout the remainder of the image. The picture is also broken up into the rule of thirds; nothing is centered making it more interesting. Lastly it’s balanced and framed well.

Both of the above images excel in mechanics and aesthetics. The lighting and dark coloring is good for these types of photos because they’re showing a dark time for the country of Japan.

Both of the above images were taken from the ABC News Slideshow, Japan: 9.0 Earthquake Causes Major Damage.

Bridal Couture at its Best- Analyzing an Audio Slideshow.

The slideshow is an entertainment piece for BBC News about Sassi Holford, a clothing designer who has been making wedding gowns for 30 years. The story is about how each dress is made starting from the beginning (sizeing) to the detailing that goes into the gown to the final product.

The slideshow has a clear narration, it’s Sissi Holford telling her story. The piece opens with music and models in gowns in a runway fashion show, this introduces and provides an essence of the story. Then Holford starts talking about what makes a “fabulous wedding dress.”

In the middle, Holford discusses her distinctive style and what goes into mixing her style in with what a client wants out of a gown.

In the end, Holford talks about materials used in each gown and elements she, as a designer, likes to use in each gown. The final picture is similar to what the story started with. It’s a model getting ready to walk down the runway. As the story ends, the picture fades to black and the music fades out. I feel like this connects the whole story together providing a piece of mind of what its like to be a designer.

The most striking thing about the photographs is being able to see how detailed some of the gowns are. The piece has a variety of photos ranging from close-ups to medium shots to detailed shots to unique angled shots. In addition seeing what its like to make and tailor dresses is interesting and requires a lot of skill.

The audio provided for the slideshow is a violins playing in the background and Holford telling her story. I dont really know how I feel about the music its random in away but seems to work with the narration. There isnt any natural sound used in the piece. I think natural sound of a sewing machine or cutting would make the piece better.

Sissi Holford Wedding Gowns

Going from picture to picture there are dissolved transitions. I think these worked well for the story. However there wasn’t any zooming in/out of photographs which could have been added to mix things up. The pacing of going from picture to picture however was rather slow. I often found myself ready to see the next picture that correlated with the story.

Though there isnt any captions, throughout the piece I like it that way because there isnt anything you need to know more about and the narration is easy to follow along.

Autumn Kelly and Peter Phillips Wedding

 

 

 

In addition it was interesting to learn that Holford, in “2008 designed the dress for the marriage of Autumn Kelly and Peter Phillips, the eldest grandson of the Queen.”

Something I would suggest for the piece is adding natural sound that goes with some of the pictures.

Overall the photos, transitions, sound and narration all worked together to create a decent piece. I liked learning about what goes into making a gown and how Holford’s gowns are one of a kind.

Current issues in health and science

The science blog reported stories on health and scientific findings through research. Such as how unemployment is a health risk, too much protein has been linked to cancer and how outdoor exercise is more beneficial.  On the other hand, the Physorg blog reported stories on science, physics, technology and news. For example its most recent blog was about how a new study is out showing that the HPV vaccination prevents genital warts on males. Both blogs received comments and neither bloggers replied, however Physorg blog showed interaction between fellow bloggers.  Principles that each of these blogs utilized that they both followed was that their blogs were frequently updated, the entries are in reverse chronological order, each post contains a headline and a body, comments were allowed and there’s references to other sites. The difference is the Physorg blog sublinked all their topics discussed to other informational sites.

 For the science blog, I like that each blog’s headline’s information catches your attention and encourages you to look into the story. In addition, the body contains information that is interesting to my health. The bloggers strengths are that they followed the principles that a good blogger should used. I disliked that the blogger didn’t have sublinks to other topics they discussed in their articles. Their weaknesses would be their blogs didn’t have any graphics or videos and their layout was rather boring. If this was my blog, I would change the format of the page to make it more interesting with colors and graphics.

As for the Physorg blog, I like that there was more color and graphics to each post and readers could add input on the stories. Their strength was though their talking about complex information they’re able to connect links to other scholarly sites to explain the basics of each topic. They’re also very creditable because they post citations to where they got their information. I didn’t like how much advertising is on each page it can be distracting to the viewer. This was definitely a weakness because the advertisements take away from the important issues that the stories are trying to stress.

In conclusion both these blogs were very information and dealt with changes in science today. There are many things similar but if I had to make any recommendations I would put less advertising on informational sites, provide more eye-catching graphics and make sure sites have multiple links to explain issues that are talked about.

Scientists In Lab