Sunday, January 31, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
A Tale of Two Cities...
Washington, DC and Edinburgh, Scotland are two capital cities with somewhat parallel local sport scenes. Having been a subscriber to both the Washington Post and The Scotsman in past lives, I felt this was a natural pairing for me to compare and contrast.
Now you may be saying, “Parallel sport scenes? Bonkers!”
To which I would reply, “Let me explain.”
The absolute futility with which the professional teams in both cities strive to compete is breathtaking. With some minor exceptions, you would have to open the history books pretty far back to find evidence that professional quality sporting occurs in either city.
Enough about history though, this is the Internet and we’re all about the present! Or is it the future? In any event, on with the show.
The first thing that I noticed about the page at http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/sectionhome.aspx?sectionID=6980 was that tennis was the primary story of the day. Knowing that Andy Murray is a national hero in Scotland, this really isn’t a surprise. I would expect that Andy Murray news eclipse almost anything in sport when he’s playing. I think Scotland winning the World Cup in soccer might be up there, but anybody who follows soccer knows what a pipe dream that is.
Naturally, soccer news was also prominently displayed on the page. In days past soccer was the primary sporting news, but as I said Andy was busy winning yesterday.
Beyond the headlines, several links are present on the page. Several are links to national soccer stories. Some have to do with Scottish Premier League (the first division national soccer league of Scotland) teams outside of Edinburgh, and some have to do with the Scottish National team and their build up to the match with Czech Republic on March 3. There are also a few links to stories about select English Premier League games from yesterday. There are also links to Scotland’s other favorite (or is that favourite?) sports, Rugby Union, and Rugby Sevens. For the uninitiated, Sevens is basically the same as Rugby Union with the exception that there are only 7 players per side instead of the traditional 15.
There are several ads bordering the main part of the site. One is a link to the employment section of Scotsman.com, and there are several links to www.localpagestoday.co.uk, which is an online business directory. Another ad, helpfully labeled “ADVERTISEMENT” is hawking cheap flights to Europe on British Airways. There are also the ubiquitous Google ads, displayed at the bottom of the page.
Links to other sections of the paper can be found across the top of the page, as well as down the left side. The links on the left nicely open up with sub sections where applicable making navigation just a tad quicker.
The sporting section at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/sports/ differs considerably in terms of content. The leading story involves the 3-ring circus known as Gilbert Arenas and his suspension from the NBA. Additionally, there is a headline article about Garrett Hartley of the New Orleans Saints, and an article about the slim hopes of the U.S. figure skating team heading into the Olympics.
In addition, the Post has links to articles about college basketball, Capitals ice hockey, and the Australian Open. There also links to several blogs written by sports writers for the Post, and scoreboards for pro basketball, men’s and women’s college basketball, and NHL hockey. The Post also has a ticker that displays the most recent scores and news for all of the area sport teams.
The Post site has its share of ads as well. There are no large banner type ads, but there are several boxes that contain “Sponsored Links” for things such as Acai berry diets and how to make millions working from home.
One of the biggest differences I see between the sites is the focus on area college and high school sports on washingtonpost.com. There was no mention whatsoever on thescotsman.com of anything but professional sports.
All in all, I think the washingtonpost.com has a much more thorough sport section, but I will attribute much of this to the plethora of choices we have here in the states. I don’t think there’s as much interest in other sports in Scotland, and for those that want more information they can find it elsewhere on the net.
Now you may be saying, “Parallel sport scenes? Bonkers!”
To which I would reply, “Let me explain.”
The absolute futility with which the professional teams in both cities strive to compete is breathtaking. With some minor exceptions, you would have to open the history books pretty far back to find evidence that professional quality sporting occurs in either city.
Enough about history though, this is the Internet and we’re all about the present! Or is it the future? In any event, on with the show.
The first thing that I noticed about the page at http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/sectionhome.aspx?sectionID=6980 was that tennis was the primary story of the day. Knowing that Andy Murray is a national hero in Scotland, this really isn’t a surprise. I would expect that Andy Murray news eclipse almost anything in sport when he’s playing. I think Scotland winning the World Cup in soccer might be up there, but anybody who follows soccer knows what a pipe dream that is.
Naturally, soccer news was also prominently displayed on the page. In days past soccer was the primary sporting news, but as I said Andy was busy winning yesterday.
Beyond the headlines, several links are present on the page. Several are links to national soccer stories. Some have to do with Scottish Premier League (the first division national soccer league of Scotland) teams outside of Edinburgh, and some have to do with the Scottish National team and their build up to the match with Czech Republic on March 3. There are also a few links to stories about select English Premier League games from yesterday. There are also links to Scotland’s other favorite (or is that favourite?) sports, Rugby Union, and Rugby Sevens. For the uninitiated, Sevens is basically the same as Rugby Union with the exception that there are only 7 players per side instead of the traditional 15.
There are several ads bordering the main part of the site. One is a link to the employment section of Scotsman.com, and there are several links to www.localpagestoday.co.uk, which is an online business directory. Another ad, helpfully labeled “ADVERTISEMENT” is hawking cheap flights to Europe on British Airways. There are also the ubiquitous Google ads, displayed at the bottom of the page.
Links to other sections of the paper can be found across the top of the page, as well as down the left side. The links on the left nicely open up with sub sections where applicable making navigation just a tad quicker.
The sporting section at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/sports/ differs considerably in terms of content. The leading story involves the 3-ring circus known as Gilbert Arenas and his suspension from the NBA. Additionally, there is a headline article about Garrett Hartley of the New Orleans Saints, and an article about the slim hopes of the U.S. figure skating team heading into the Olympics.
In addition, the Post has links to articles about college basketball, Capitals ice hockey, and the Australian Open. There also links to several blogs written by sports writers for the Post, and scoreboards for pro basketball, men’s and women’s college basketball, and NHL hockey. The Post also has a ticker that displays the most recent scores and news for all of the area sport teams.
The Post site has its share of ads as well. There are no large banner type ads, but there are several boxes that contain “Sponsored Links” for things such as Acai berry diets and how to make millions working from home.
One of the biggest differences I see between the sites is the focus on area college and high school sports on washingtonpost.com. There was no mention whatsoever on thescotsman.com of anything but professional sports.
All in all, I think the washingtonpost.com has a much more thorough sport section, but I will attribute much of this to the plethora of choices we have here in the states. I don’t think there’s as much interest in other sports in Scotland, and for those that want more information they can find it elsewhere on the net.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Introducing...
My name is Al Scott. I currently reside in Crofton, MD, and work as an IT consultant in Washington, DC.
I've known for several years that I wanted to shift my focus away from IT and towards something that I felt was closer to what I really enjoyed doing. While the IT industry has many challenges, the work can generally become tedious and monotonous. One thing that I've learned about myself during my career is that I enjoy working with people a lot more than I ever thought I would. Several times over the past few years I've kicked myself for
a) not listening to my mom and taking more business classes as an undergrad, and
b) not pursuing a job in something that I was really passionate about.
Now, several years later with a full compliment of children and bills, the decisions are a little trickier.
My current goal is to utilize my education and professional background to eventually get involved with event management, and possibly working in the athletic department in a University.
As for my sporting background I've been involved in soccer mostly since the age of 5. I played competitively through my freshman year in college at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. I currently volunteer coach for youth soccer and basketball, participate in endurance events, play golf, and hit the gym as often as time will allow. I am a tremendous fan of sports in general, and have yet to meet a sport that I couldn't get interested in. My next attempt will be curling as I've heard great reviews from some friends who have tried their hands at it.
Educationally speaking, I have a BS in Computer and Information Sciences from the University of Delaware. I'd like to add that I graduated Magna Cum Laude...but I'd be lying. I probably should have taken it as a sign that I squeaked by in my degree program. Ever the Taurus, I continued down my current path until I came upon this wonderful program. I've been heard to utter the dictum: "I'd never want to be a member of a club that would have me as a member", but I'm very pleased with what I've taken away from Tiffin up to this point. The work has been difficult, but very rewarding. I have no doubt that my next few classes will surprise and please me as well.
I've known for several years that I wanted to shift my focus away from IT and towards something that I felt was closer to what I really enjoyed doing. While the IT industry has many challenges, the work can generally become tedious and monotonous. One thing that I've learned about myself during my career is that I enjoy working with people a lot more than I ever thought I would. Several times over the past few years I've kicked myself for
a) not listening to my mom and taking more business classes as an undergrad, and
b) not pursuing a job in something that I was really passionate about.
Now, several years later with a full compliment of children and bills, the decisions are a little trickier.
My current goal is to utilize my education and professional background to eventually get involved with event management, and possibly working in the athletic department in a University.
As for my sporting background I've been involved in soccer mostly since the age of 5. I played competitively through my freshman year in college at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. I currently volunteer coach for youth soccer and basketball, participate in endurance events, play golf, and hit the gym as often as time will allow. I am a tremendous fan of sports in general, and have yet to meet a sport that I couldn't get interested in. My next attempt will be curling as I've heard great reviews from some friends who have tried their hands at it.
Educationally speaking, I have a BS in Computer and Information Sciences from the University of Delaware. I'd like to add that I graduated Magna Cum Laude...but I'd be lying. I probably should have taken it as a sign that I squeaked by in my degree program. Ever the Taurus, I continued down my current path until I came upon this wonderful program. I've been heard to utter the dictum: "I'd never want to be a member of a club that would have me as a member", but I'm very pleased with what I've taken away from Tiffin up to this point. The work has been difficult, but very rewarding. I have no doubt that my next few classes will surprise and please me as well.
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