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Tag: practice

  • Oakland Raiders Scrum with Cowboys in Practice

    Football season cannot come soon enough. Sure – one can tune into ESPN these days and watch baseball, golf, or NASCAR. But there’s nothing out there to help alleviate the built-up tension and aggression of sports fans like a good ol’ football game. Perhaps more importantly, though, it appears as if the players themselves need to get out on the field before they explode from all the built-up stress and testosterone.

    During Tuesday’s scrimmage between the Oakland Raiders and the Dallas Cowboys, tensions came to a head as the day would see multiple scrums between the opposing sides.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfM6Qv8gXlk

    The first brawl started after Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne tackled Raiders tight-end Mychal Rivera, in a no-tackle scrimmage, after he believed Rivera lowered his shoulder in an attempt to plow through.

    Both teams quickly cleared the sidelines following the action between Claiborne and Rivera, though the players weren’t the only ones to get involved.

    As the players were bunched-up along a fence on the sidelines, a Raiders fan leaned over the barricade to hit Cowboys cornerback B.W. Webb first with his hands and then a replica helmet: ”It’s definitely a dangerous situation. I don’t know why fans would want to jump on this side of the fence. I don’t think they’d like it too much on this side.”

    While there has been a lot of negative attention surrounding intrasquad skirmishes in the NFL lately, both the Raiders and the Cowboys seemed to view Tuesday’s brawls in a positive light.

    Raider’s coach Dennis Allen chalked the scrums up as typical occurrences before commenting on the fantastic atmosphere the crowd provided: “That happens in a competitive environment, but I thought it was good work… What a hell of an atmosphere to practice football in. That’s what Raider Nation is really all about, man. That was awesome to see those guys come out and support us like that. It almost felt like, at times, that I had to quiet the crowd down just so we could get some plays off.”

    Allen was also careful, though, to express his view that practice is not the place for fighting, however:

    I don’t like the fights. I want to come out and practice football. We don’t have any time for that, and we certainly don’t want to get anybody injured in fisticuffs. I thought both teams came out and competed and got a lot of good work in.

    Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, took his typical laissez-faire approach to the on-field violence, though, stating, “That passion, that’s mostly what I’d hoped what we would get out of getting these teams together.”

    Cowboys coach Jason Garrett echoed Jones’s sentiments, saying, “You have to as a player defend your teammate, get yourself in there and make sure he’s OK. Always have your guy’s back. That’s an important part of building a football team. At the same time, poise in that situation is important. I thought we demonstrated both and you kind of move on.”

    However, with the recent news from NASCAR concerning the death of dirt-track racer Kevin Ward, Jr. following an on-track skirmish with professional driver Tony Stewart, perhaps the NFL and other sports organization should start taking these bursts of violence more seriously and not simply write it off as “men being men.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Greg Oden Practices with Miami Heat

    Today marked a turning point for former Portland Trailblazers’ center, Greg Oden. Its been four whole years since he practiced or played in a regular-season NBA game. However, today he hit the court, or should I say “ballroom,” for the first-time. For those wondering why Oden was even in a ballroom, as opposed to playing on a traditional court, its because the Miami Heat kicked off training camp at the Atlantis Resort on Atlantic Paradise Island in the Bahamas.

    It was “Day 1” for the Miami Heat training camp, and a new beginning for the towering seven-foot phenom. August 7, it was announced that Oden secured a one-year guaranteed deal with the Heat valued at approximately $900,000. Now, he looks rebuild his stock, and remind NBA enthusiasts why he was the 2007 #1 overall draft pick.

    The Heat camp started with an array of standard drills and defensive workouts. Oden participated in almost half of the entire practice session, which is a vast accomplishment given the extent of his ongoing struggle with knee problems. It’ll definitely take Oden some time to adjust to the rigors of training, which is why the Heat hasn’t given an exact time frame for when Oden will play a regular season game.

    The last game he played was with the Portland Trailblazers on December 5, 2009, when he suffered a fractured left patella. Then, on November 7, 2010, Oden underwent a second surgery for the same knee. The micro-fracture surgery marked yet another season-ending upset. On Feb. 3, 2012, he injured his right knee, which resulted in arthroscopic surgery. Then, on February 20, 2012, just 17 days after his arthroscopic surgery for his right knee, Oden was prepared to undergo a similar treatment for his left knee, only to find that more damage to his articular cartilage was found. So in a nutshell, Oden has definitely had his share of hard luck where injuries are concerned.

    According to ESPN, as the rest of the team advanced to the first preliminary scrimmage toward the end of practice, Oden was seated at court-side icing both knees. While his practice days are going to be relatively slow for now, he looks forward to the upcoming season.

    Oden is optimistic about his return and appreciative of the Heat for the opportunity he’s been given. He shared his sentiments in regards to his progress, anticipation toward practice and the upcoming season. “It felt good just being out there. First time in a while, I’m happy I got it completed. They had to pull me off the floor. But I’ve got to take steps,” admitted Oden. “We’ll keep going. Little by little,” he said.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Allen Iverson ‘We’re Talkin’ About Practice” Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary

    I can’t believe it, we’re sitting here talking about practice. Not the ‘game’ that Allen Iverson died for, and played every one like it was his last…10 years ago. Yes, take a moment to let that last bit sink in. It has been a decade since Allen Iverson became frustrated about a reporter’s question regarding Larry Brown criticizing Allen Iverson over missing team practices. At the time, the 76ers had just lost to Boston in a hard fought five game series, which nobody really remembers. We all remember this press conference segment, however…

    It had been awhile since I’d seen the video, and I have to say it holds up well and is definitely on the list of greatest sports rants ever, if not THE greatest. There have been videos released which have counted how many times “practice” was uttered in his rant; if you’re curious, it’s more than twenty.

    Twitter has come alive with reactions to the ten year anniversary, ranging everywhere from comical, to supporting Iverson, to criticizing the former superstar.

    Ten years ago today, Allen Iverson was “talkin ’bout practice, man.” Now today he’s talkin ’bout unemployment, man.(image) 32 minutes ago via TweetDeck ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    Ten years ago today, Allen Iverson was talking about practice. Practice, man. Practice.(image) 6 hours ago via WhoSay ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    “NOT the actual game! PRACTICE!? That what we talkin bout?? PRACTICE!?*repeat 68 more times* -Allen Iverson #Classic(image) 55 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    10 years ago today, Allen Iverson said “practice” 20 times in 2:23 minutes and the world became a very different place http://t.co/mZedLa5t(image) 2 hours ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    Man watching these old Allen Iverson videos on YouTube makes you realize how nasties he was! Simply amazed…(image) 1 day ago via Echofon ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    It’s sad that the casual NBA fan will remember Allen Iverson for his antics, people forget how amazing he was, but that’s his fault(image) 1 minute ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    10 years since Allen Iverson went on his rant about practice…. Does anyone wonder why he never won a championship!!(image) 59 seconds ago via Twitter for Android ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    As a special bonus, since we don’t get to celebrate sports rants very often, here are some of the other classics.

  • CIPR Looking For Suggestions Regarding Social Media Guidelines

    The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) wants your help to develop a best-practice set of guidelines on using social media in PR practice.

    According to the CIPR’s Social Media Panel, the open consultation is designed to help ensure that the guidelines reflect best practice, capture expert thinking and reflect new technologies, tools and ways of working, as they develop.

    If you have a constructive point of view about social media in UK public relations practice, you can add your voice, whether or not you’re in PR or even a CIPR member.

    […] We welcome input from practitioners, industry bodies and any other groups keen to develop social media thinking and best practice. This is and should be a collaborative effort for the public relations profession.

    The existing CIPR social media guidelines – first developed in early 2007 and last updated in 2009 – have been posted to a CIPR wiki to enable collaborative reviewing and editing. You can find it here:

    http://ciprsm.wikispaces.com/guidelines-review

    A quick review of some of the content posted there shows just how fast things have changed in PR practice, what comprises social media these days and how it’s used from the PR perspective. Good timing to update this material.

    The open consultation period runs until the end of September and the CIPR’s goal is to publish updated guidelines in October.

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