Basketball Beat with Donna Ditota

The 6-foot-1-inch Donna Ditota is a former college athlete and sports editor at St. Bonaventure University. Her unique perspective of the game gives her insight into the life of a college athlete.

Before covering the Syracuse University men’s basketball team for Syracuse.com and The Post Standard, Ditota’s first job was for a business magazine. She credits her time with the magazine as a hands-on learning experience from researching to reporting.

Since then she has been with Syracuse.com and The Post Standard for 32 years.

Although there is a challenge in covering the same beat for many years, Ditota describes herself as an inquisitive person and interested in many things.

“You do get to a point where you try to think of some new angles, new ways to approach things, new ways to tell what is essentially the same story. I’m curious about what is happening in games, people in the games and I much rather write a sidebar after a game,” Ditota said.

An alum of St. Bonaventure University, Ditota’s excellence in sports journalism awarded her SBU’s distinguished John Domino Award.

Ditota’s advice for breaking into the business is to gain as much as experience as possible. She also emphasizes on getting work published and working for an organization that will help you grow. 

Photo from Syracuse.com

Burton- Interview with Media Jessica Filipek

By Kayla Burton SYRACUSE, N.Y.

Jessica Filepek is the Lehigh University Multimedia Assistant Director, where she overlooks all media, from filming athletic events, to pre-game and post-game analysis, to live-streaming games, and additionally creating both feature and hype videos for Lehigh's social media platform.

She does it all.

For four years, Filipek has worked at Lehigh as an aspiring to be a producer. Because her job is extremely independent, having to do multiple tasks at hand, she is used to being reliable to keep things moving.

"It's a lot of work for sure," said Filipek. "You're constantly being put into different roles, whether due to the shortness of staff or simply because it needs to get done and I'm the only one there to do the job, I'll do it. It usually never goes as planned but I love knowing I'm prepared to get the job done."

Filipek said that although the job can be hectic at times, her confidence as a producer has most certainly increased as the years went on. Filipek said her skills have grown tremendously, working with different technical pieces while also directing students to complete a well-done production.

"I love seeing students go from knowing absolutely nothing to eventually coming into the office or on they field and pick up a camera, knowing exactly what they are doing that day because they know they can do it." Said Filipek.

One of the most rewarding components of Filipek's job is knowing as a woman in the sports industry, she is more than capable of taking measures into her own hands, needing no-one but herself to get the job done.

The Syracuse Chiefs Earn a Thrilling Comeback Win at Home

The Syracuse Chiefs (44-63) earned an 11-10 comeback win in 13 innings against the visiting Pawtucket Red Sox (48-57), after trailing 7-0 early in the game.

The comeback was in full swing as the two teams exchanged leads for four extra innings, before an error by the Red Sox’s Ivan De Jesus brought home the winning run for the Chiefs.

The Chiefs were checked out early on, showing some fatigue from their recent string of road games. The team played a late game in Durham Sunday night, and a rain delay caused an even later finish. Their bus from North Carolina did not arrive back in Syracuse until almost 10 a.m.

The Red Sox did most of their damage in the top of the 2nd inning, where they took a commanding 6-0 lead.

Pawtucket increased their lead to 7-0 with a single run in the 3rd.

The Chiefs comeback effort began in the bottom of the 4th when catcher Pedro Severino hit a solo homerun to put the home team on the board.

The comeback continued with the Chiefs scoring one run in each of the following three innings, and then three runs in the 8th to tie the game.

Both teams went scoreless in 9th, sending the game to extra innings.

The two teams will meet again at 6:35 p.m today at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse.

50 Years of Attending Chief Games is Just What the Doctor Ordered

Life-long resident and Syracuse alum, David has been going to Chief games for over 50 years. An avid sports fan, he loves the atmosphere of the baseball stadium.  Attending the games is literally, helping to save his life.

David served in the air force for eight years. While in Vietnam, he was exposed to Agent Orange, a chemical the United States used in the jungle to prevent enemies from hiding. Years of exposure left David with numerous health complications.

Two years ago David suffered a heart attack. His doctors told him he needed to exercise. He now combines his passion for baseball with walking and feels better than he has in years.  

“Every day I walked in my parking lot and you can imagine how boring that is,” David said. So, that’s when he started using the Chiefs games as a way to exercise and watch a sport he loves. “Here I am burning up calories, I’m getting some cardio exercise, and I get to see the game from different points of view. I go down close to the field and then I go up high. I get a kick out of seeing it from different perspectives and what not”

On the day I met David he had already clocked 6000 steps. His weight and blood pressure are both down.

Getting to meet new people, enjoying the scenery and watching the Chiefs is the reason David describes this as “my favorite place.”

--Kendra Sheehan

Behind The Scenes of The New England Patriots

Stacey James - Vice President of Media Relations, New England Patriots

Stacey James attended Washington State University, graduating with a Bachelors of Communications.

While at Washington State, he held a public relations position within the sports information
department, as well as earning the opportunity to intern with New York Jets for a year
before finishing his degree.

During his time in the sports media industry, he has further developed his communications
and public relations skills, allowing him to gain further opportunities. He supports this
by saying, “The number one way how to get hired is to set yourself apart from the other
candidates applying.” He adds, “As you get older, this task gets harder as everyone is very
experienced and good at what they do.” Nonetheless, James assures that while a daunting task,
the idea of working in the NFL is possible.

Subsequently, in order to stand out, one must discover creative ways to display their resume

in front of the communications and human relations teams. One examples James notes is in the

case of an individual who submitted their resume in a box of chocolates.

Not only did this idea stand apart from other candidates, it showed the applicant had the desire to

go the extra mile. This is significant as it provided an applicable example of how I can also separate

myself in the application process among thousands of other potential professionals.

Secondly, Stacey James earned internships with multiple NFL and NBA teams during
his time as a student. Through these experiences, James took the time to develop friendships
with his supervisors and relationships with his peers. Further, he utilized these connections
when he graduated to earn other professional opportunities in the sports media world. This
is a prime example as to why networking is essential to gaining a position
with a professional sports team.

Specifically in the NFL, there are currently 32 teams with 32 communications departments. As

they  each work under the umbrella of the NFL, they work closely to assure consistency in their

brand image. With this closely knit culture, there is a good chance that the Director of Communications

of one team is in close communication with another. James supports this by saying,

“Sometimes just mentioning a name on your references or in a cover letter could land you a job,

as this shows you have worked for a respected individual of the league.” This statement rang true

for James who claims the Vice President of Communications for the New York helped support

him in landing a position with another NFL team.

Interestingly enough, I know Stacey James from a past experience in which I interviewed for a

season internship with the Patriots in May 2018. Following the interview, I stayed in touch with him

and maintained our relationship. Following this latest interview, I feel as though I am better informed

on how to differentiate myself to employers. I learned first hand how important it is to not only build

contacts, but to also consistently follow up with my connections for future opportunities. He gave me

multiple examples of individuals that he has previously hired based on the fact they kept in contact with

him over the years. I’m looking forward to keeping Stacey James as a contact and following up with him

as a connection throughout my career in sports.

The Syracuse Chief's Most Storied Fan

When I decided to walk up to Don Waffle and ask him a few questions, I did not realize who I was speaking to. I was unaware of his status in the community, and I only wanted to ask him a few questions because he appeared to be a regular at the Syracuse Chiefs games. Though I was unable to speak to him for too long, I was more than impressed with this 102-year-old World War II veteran’s ability to get around the stadium.

Fortunately, Harold Galvin was there to fill me in on many of the more remarkable facets of his life, including the exclamation that they were not only regulars, but season ticket holders as well. Though Galvin seemed to have an interesting story of his own, he was enthusiastic to give me an account of Waffle’s storied life. 

After graduating from Syracuse’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Waffle would eventually become president of the Chiefs board for 36 years. Clearly, his love for this organization runs deep, as he continued to make a trip to just about every home game he could up until this year. Even though his attendance may be down slightly this season, his passion for the team and the community as a whole drive his continued visits to NBT Bank Stadium.

Hitting a home run: the difficulties of promotions in minor league baseball

Photo: Dakota Palmer

By Dakota Palmer

While fans chow down hot dogs, burgers and other popular stadium foods for Mangia Monday, the all-you-can-eat promotional night for the Syracuse Chiefs game, the man in charge of the special event is most likely thinking about planning the next big event at NBT Stadium: Potato Palooza.

Kyle Fussner, manager of community relations and promotions for the Syracuse Chiefs, aims to do one thing: fill seats. However, marketing in minor league baseball can be much more difficult than in major league baseball, Fussner said. 

Each year minor league teams attend the Minor League Baseball Promotional Seminar, where teams’ marketing and promotional employees are able to network and share ideas of what promotional events are successful and unsuccessful, Fussner said. 

Fussner said last year he learned from an Iowa team that their all-you-can-eat promotion was successful, so this year the Chiefs are trying it.

“A lot of teams are jumping on each other's bandwagon,” Fussner said. “It's not too much copying each other, it's seeing what works and building off of that.”

One of the most popular promotional events is Kids Eat Free Sundays, where children ages 12 and under can eat a hot dog, popcorn, two sodas and an ice cream for free.

Fussner said finding out which promotions work and which don’t is one of the most difficult parts of marketing. However, whether the park puts on a Zombie Night where only one person dresses up or a fireworks night where the stadium has record attendance, each promotion is a learning experience.

“The ones that work, you can tell,” he said. “The fans get into it; the fans are talking about it leading up to it — that's where we learn how to push the big ones.”

One of the most difficult aspects of minor league baseball, especially compared to major league baseball is the on-field play, Fussner said.

“We sell fun,” he said. “Our team is 20 games below 500, we're not selling people to come watch the greatest team in the world and I think people understand that.”

Out of the five seasons he’s worked for the Chiefs, Fussner said he can only remember the score of one game — only because it was a memorable game. Other than that, Fussner typically doesn’t know the score or who’s up to bat. He’s here to make sure fans enjoy their experience.

Watching the Chiefs take on the Red Sox are Debbie Copes and Isaiah Morris, there for a family event. While they don’t attend Chiefs games often, they each had ideas for dream promotional nights: for Copes, a coffee-themed night. Morris, however, hopes to experience a chicken wing bar sometime in the future.

While the Chiefs don’t have a Derek Jeter or Aaron Judge to sell out the stadium, Fussner is there to think of creative ideas to put people in seats. He said he has already started planning promotional nights for the 2019 season.

“A lot of people say between September and March is our offseason, but our offseason is all about planning for the season coming ahead,” he said.