Empire wins annual Karen Community in Syracuse soccer tournament  

By Juma John Stephen

Emire Soccer Club celebrating their win over Buffalo Elites on Sunday at the CNYFSC

Empire Soccer Club are the champions of the Karen Community in Syracuse after beating the Buffalo Elites 3-5 goals on Sunday at the Central New York Family Sports Centre.

Empire started scoring with a penalty right at the 11^th minute of the game before Buffalo equalized at the 40^th minute of the game.

The second half was more competitive when the goals started flying in. Speaking to the Team Captain for Empire Soccer Club Lwehla after the game he said they believed in their skills and teamwork as they went into the game.

“We believed we had every chance to win the tournament. They (Buffalo) beat us in the group stages two goals to nil but we knew we can beat them and we did” Lwehla said, “Never give up was our motto. We are going to a party and it's our recovery time."

Lee Rou, the assistant Team Captain for Empire Soccer Club, said leaving in a refugee camp inspired him to work harder. "My dream is to have an opportunity to play at the highest level. We want to showcase our skills as a refugee to the world." Said Rou.

Pa-Lu is a Player-Coach for the Buffalo Elites soccer club established in 2017 to play in the Karen Community in Syracuse Annual games. Most of the players are high school and college students. Last year they were the runner up too.

I spoke to Pa-Lu before the game and he stated that "Our tactics is to play the ball quickly and pass well."  And added "Winning always feels good." Though he scored and gave an assist Buffalo Elites lost to Empire.

The Karen Community in Syracuse tournament is organized by the Karen Community in Syracuse, however, the chief organizer Sah Powah, the annual soccer event is meant for the people of Boma. The entry requirements are; the team has to have enough players and pay the $350 entry fee which helps in securing the venue ($2650 for two days) and food.

“The players are getting better, younger people now playing. The main goal of the tournament is to bring more people together, the youth and the community to know themselves and have fun.”  The 25-year-old Powah said "I am happy for the winners. I am also happy that the tournament went without any major injury. The players showed sportsmanship and we enjoyed soccer”

According to Eh Mwee, the Chairman of Karen Community in Syracuse, the games are getting better every year and the Thailand Refuges community is growing every year.

The entry fee for each team was $350 and there were 16 teams this year competing. Second place $1, 500 USD and the Champions get $3,500. The tournament will start again in the summer of 2020.

Peggy Iralson's Story From Science To PR

Peggy Iralson is a talent producer for Barstool Sports and a talent producer for NFL Network, but she didn’t start off that way. In high school, Iralson was always drawn to sports. Iralson graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Exercise Science and Physiology and continued with a few post graduate classes in nutrition, however, she was not sure this was her calling. After she graduated, Iralson got into the exercise science field but quickly learned how it diminished her passion for herself. She decided that she couldn’t be in the gym all day with others then have the energy to go to the gym for herself. And with this, her love for health faded away and she decided to try another path in Philadelphia with the 76ers. Here, she worked a full time, unpaid public relations internship for a year, holding two other jobs on the side to pay for her to live in the city. It was also here that she realized public relations was the route she wanted to go. For 10 years, she worked to brand the Exos Company (originally known as Athletes Performance), a workout center for professional and amateur athletes and this is where she was, for the first time, able to combine her passions of health and sports in a way that she loved, through Public Relations. Today, as a talent producer, she has specified her public relations skills into a very unique job where she gets to work in the sports industry that she loves.

Interview Transcript 
Audio Transcript

How journalism found Rodger Wyland...

It was just an ordinary day at church for 15-year-old Rodger Wyland or at least so he thought. He would soon realize that this day was the beginning of a long career ahead of him. Standing in front of the whole church Wyland would get up and begin reading scripture, but this time was different. After the service finished Wyland was approached by the general manager of a local radio station in town. He was intrigued by his voice and asked if he’d ever be interested in a job in radio because of the potential he saw in Wyland. 

From that day on Wyland never stopped working in journalism. He was always fascinated by TV but in order to get there he worked in all areas of the broadcast. Anyway, Wyland could get involved he wanted to, and he did. Wyland experienced journalism at such a young age he has been able to watch journalism evolve throughout the years. For instance, the way he covers breaking news in sports. 

“There is nothing like being able to break news in the 6:20 sportscast,” said Wyland. 

Unfortunately, now social media is a main source for breaking news. This being one of the main changes since he started. Wyland could’ve chose to switch careers when things changed but he said he could never see himself doing anything else. Journalism is what he knows. 

Audio

From Tape Recorder to the Voice of the Bengals: Dan Hoard

From a very early age Dan Hoard watched sports. He was interested in what the players were doing on the field, what play changes were being called, what the coaches reaction are; But it was the voices behind the action he quickly grew enamored with. 

Hoard would turn down the TV, plug in his tape recorder and record himself calling games. Little did he know, fast forward a job change from the announcer of the Syracuse Chiefs to a Cincinnati sports director at WXIX, Dan Hoard would become the next “voice of the Bengals.”

Hoard has one of the most successful podcasts in Cincinnati called “Bengals Booth Podcast.” Every week he sits down with former Bengal Dave “Lap” Lapham. Hoard owes the success of the show to the chemistry he has with his co-host. He said there is a little bit of luck involved, but when it comes to Lap, it’s hard not to have chemistry with him.

From their very first broadcast in 2011, Hoard knew the potential of his broadcast, even on what was said to be the beginning of a difficult season. Hoard recounts the Cincinnati duos first broadcast: “The Bengals were coming off a 4-12 season, Carson Palmer was holding out. They had just signed Andy Dalton, expectations from the national media were cold. The Bengals were suspected to be the worst team in the NFL. We did a preseason opener at Detroit and lost. Very badly. As we get on the bus to go home, it’s silent, because things did not go well. And I’m sitting in the front of the bus giddy with excitement. Because I thought the broadcast went extremely well. Lap and I had great chemistry right off the bat.” 

Except for the six weeks between mini camp and training camp, Hoard is constantly preparing for the next game. In addition to Bengals games, he also broadcasts University of Cincinnati football, basketball games. Nothing compares to Gameday says Hoard, “This is the closest I get to becoming a professional athlete.” 

For future broadcasters, Hoard says broadcasting can’t be taught in a classroom. You can learn important building blocks, but you can’t become a broadcaster without getting out there.” 

Getting Wright: A Pizza Date That Changed Everything

Media Personality, Nick Wright

     For Nick Wright, all the credit goes to his wife. Early on, knew he wanted to be involved with sports. A chance encounter with Bob Costas as a pre-teen led to an interview with the Newhouse dean, an early start at WAER his freshman year, and some early friendships made him confident that he would succeed. He says he felt slightly privileged, but that's him being modest. Wright attended Syracuse University for his undergraduate studies and graduated in '07. After graduating, he moved to Kansas City, with a promise that he could host his own show once a week. He made it onto Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (I am not kidding) and started on his journey to the top. But it was in Kansas City where he developed a gambling addiction and smoking habit. 

     The game show appearance netted him 50 thousand dollars but with 5 casinos in the area, it was gone pretty quickly. With a meager salary, and a gambling problem, one can imagine that life wasn't all gravy for Nick at the time. But then he met the one. After some failed attempts at securing a date, Nick finally scored when he told her he was moving to Seattle for a job in a week (that he actually didn't get), and she agreed to meet him at Da Bronx Pizzeria a couple days later. When he showed up, she was with her two children, a two year old girl, and a 9 year old boy. After hanging out and eating some pizza, Nick must've said all the "wright" (I'm sorry) things to her because she told him that her sister could watch her kids and they could go on a real date later that same night. 

     They dated for some time before getting serious, and after learning the rigors of being a single mother without much support, Nick realized it was time to wake up. His wife was working three jobs at once just to support her kids. Nick says, "I was watching this woman who had none of the privilege or opportunity I had just make it happen." It was at that point that he started to get himself together for the sake of his relationship, his career, and her children. Nick went on to become who the personality that he is because he learned to grow up quickly. 

     Nick is currently a co-host for "First Things First" on FOX Sports that airs weekdays at 6:30 in the morning. Nick is arguably the biggest LeBron James fan you could ever meet, and he makes sure that you know why. He is a husband, father, and friend. He got to where he is because he is driven, passionate, prepared, and tenacious. But to him, he is absolutely nothing without his wife. At 23, a date at Da Bronx essentially gave those who support him, the Nick Wright that exists today. "People see single black mom, two kids, and then see me, people would say things to me like oh what a blessing you are for that family, and I get the sentiment, but that's not really how it happened." Nick Wright shows up on the screen, he makes the tweets, and he talks to the players, but if you let him tell the story, she's the reason the chips have fallen where they have.  

Chris Williamson : Sports Dreams Was The Theme

Chris Williamson currently serves as a sports anchor, host, and reporter at SNY. Williamson first love for sports start at a very young age. Williamson’s childhood dream of being a professional athlete came to a halt after getting cut from both his high school freshman and junior varsity basketball team. At the moment, Williamson decided he would rather discuss sports rather than play them.

 Williamson studied broadcast and digital journalism at Syracuse University. While he was focused on developing his sports journalism career, he became involved with the Orangemen’s football team, even though basketball was still number one in his mind. 

Williamson looked up to broadcasters like Bob Costas, Mike Tirico, and Stuart Scott. He used his time at Syracuse University to develop his on-air personality, improve on his writing skills, and perfect his delivery. A big part of his success was learning how to be comfortable in front of the camera. Removing the nervousness and speaking fast were things that stuck out while progressing as a broadcaster. Williamson recalls working on unscripted projects like “Orange All Access”, where he remembers interviewing a field hockey player at Syracuse University. He remembers being nervous as he tried remembering all the questions he put together. 

Williamson also spent time as part of the Citrus TV family. It was there that Williamson learned the ins & outs of television production, learning to work and create under extreme deadlines. Williamson got his first break in sports as the weekend sports anchor/weekday reporter in Wisconsin.

He was promoted to weekday anchor for the FOX-affiliate station that his company bought. Williamson then became the face of his FOX channel’s sports show. Wisconsin gave Williamson the opportunity to grow and make mistakes that would help prepare him for bigger markets and exposure.

While working in Wisconsin, Williamson says, “The biggest lesson he learned was to always be relentless, as well as knowing how to adjust when things hit the fan. Be ready for anything that comes your way.” Williamson has had the pleasure of working in a top media market, and while he doesn’t feel any pressure, he’s always nervous before every show. The hunger and willingness to deliver his best performance comes up before every show. Williamson is confident in what he brings to the table. He is not sure what the future holds.  He never expected that, at just 27-years-old, he’d be living out his dreams as an anchor, host, and reporter in the number one media market in the country. 

“Enjoy and appreciate the journey and the struggles. Don’t focus on rushing to land a job or get caught up on what others think about you, your talent, and brand. There will be people who will go against your talent and what you believe in to knock you off your game.”

Chris Williamson's childhood sports dreams became a theme to do what he believed was his passion. 

Sky Kerstein: Building relationships and always say "YES"

For my interview, I had the opportunity to talk with Sky Kerstein who is a producer and on-air personality for FOX 2 in Detroit. His journey throughout his ten-year career has helped him become diverse in the business by learning to do multiple things on camera and behind the scenes. Being persistent, being open to learn and always say "yes" to opportunities surrounding work were some of the main points I took away from our conversation. People like Mike Tirico and Vin Scully were idols of Kerstein and helped fuel his passion that became the driving force in his pursuit into the sports world.

Listen to my full interview HERE.

Read my transcribed interview HERE.

Malika Andrews: The Young G.O.A.T

160 hotel keys, 160 days of traveling, 160 days of being away from her friends and family. Since the beginning of 2019 Malika Andrews has traveled for 160 days to cover the NBA for ESPN- the worldwide leader of sports. At the young age of 24 years old Andrews has managed to get a seat at the table; and not only is she sitting at that table but she is also contributing to the conversations in the sports world that have to be had. "As a woman it is important to differentiate yourself from being much more than a pretty face" Andrews said, "I wanted to be more than the pretty girl mediating between two men, I wanted to be an information man too". Prioritizing stories over herself and identifying herself as a writer first has set her apart. Although Andrews has her days where it's hard to get up and go, her "why" is the women. She says she hopes to make it easier for women to come after her.

It's Not About the Destination, It's About the Journey: Andy Malnoske

Every day when Andy Malnoske would drive into school at Shippensburg University, he would see the sign that read: Home of the 1990 USA Champions.

This was the sign for the Shippensburg Little League team that stole the hearts of the people in Pennsylvania and the entire country. This was also a sign that would eventually drive Malnoske to his true love for sports.

As a graduate student, Malnoske strove to be the best and nothing less than that. He was an avid sports guy who was influenced by the work ethic of his family, yet he wasn’t entirely sure about his path. That was until his interest in the Shippensburg Little League team showed him the power of sports storytelling and the impact it could have on people.

He embraced it immediately.

“Wouldn’t it be cool to do a ‘let’s see where they are now’ type of thing? So that was always on my mind,” Malnoske said. “I made that documentary and that really changed my life.”

Steve Tannen's Career: Financial Industry to Sports Radio

Source: Steve Tannen Twitter (@SportsTalk953)

"I jumped at the opportunity." Those are the words Steve Tannen uses to describe his journey from working in the financial industry to becoming a sports radio talk show host.

It all started when a group of Steve's friends decided to leave their successful jobs as lawyers. Those friends were always interested in the world of radio because Steve did it in college but they never pursued it as a career.

In 1990 Steve got a call from those friends saying they were bored with their jobs and wanted to buy a radio station. They traveled the country and settled on one in Eugene, Oregon. They eventually asked Steve to host their morning show and he had no choice but to say yes because he missed working in radio.

Steve moved out to Eugene with six weeks' excited to start a new career. Unfortunately, in 1993 the radio station went belly up but he decided to stick it out. Later that year he started hosting his own sports show on public radio. He eventually switched to hosting his show full time on commercial radio and the rest is history. It is 26 years later and Steve Tannen is the host of Crunch Time and Sports Talk on 95.3 the score daily in Eugene, Oregon.

I Went From a Mascot to a Reporter

What was only supposed to be a joke amongst friends turned out to be a catalyst for a career she only dreamed of. 

Rochester New York’s News 10 NBC Sports Reporter, Breland Moore, was only in high school when her field hockey coach requested that she “jumped into” the school’s mascot costume for $20 dollars. 

Her performance that evening sparked the interest of a Red Wing Phillies’ representative who sat in the audience during her performance. 

Moore was later offered a position as that team’s mascot, which she would later use to help launch her sport’s broadcasting career.

Moore always knew that a career in sports was her destiny.  She would spend her childhood shadowing her grandfather at all sporting events.

“My grandfather had no grandsons at the time when I was growing up… he took me to everything in place…all the baseball, all the hockey…so I just kinda grew up loving the games.”

Moore went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast and Journalism from Temple University on a mascot-based scholarship.

“I was able to use that to network, and get where I wanted to go.”

As Temple University’s “Hooter”, Moore was able to travel with the sports teams for free, and network with professionals that she may not have had the opportunity to otherwise. 

She remembers specifically being able to “pick the brain” of Stuart Scott to learn the ins and outs of the industry she loves, an experience she attributed to being a mascot.

Today Moore spends majority of her days covering the Buffalo Bills as the only female sports reporter at her network.  Although she often experiences the misogynistic ways of the industry, she does encourage more women to enter the sports broadcasting field. 

Leaving a High Paying Job to Pursue a Sports Journalism Career

Guya Scopas Bethuel SYRACUSE, NY - The sports industry in the United States has evolved and remained competitive. “Everyone wants to do it but not everybody can do it.” These were the words of Paul Esden, a sports talk radio host with Cumulus Media’s The Score 1260.

Paul Esden of The score1260 radio in an interview 

Paul left a well-paying job in order to pursue a sports journalism career and he does not regret the decision.

He spends 20 hours a week of sports talk radio. He also covers Syracuse athletics for inside the lighthouse website.

Paul did unpaid internship with Cumulus Media and ESPN for more than 2 years. His hard work got him a production job at ESPN radio before moving back to Cumulus Media.

“When I was at ESPN, I had to pay $40 a week of my money to just park my car to even have a chance to get into the internship.” Said, Paul.

He said it requires a lot to succeed in an industry that already boasts many people. Paul outlines the following as prerequisite in order to succeed:

•       Passion for sports
•       Patience and commitment
•       Conviction

Paul wanted to participate in NFL before pursuing sports journalism. “When I realize the NFL was not going to call me, I decided If I am not going to play my favorite sport, I will speak about sports.” Said, Paul.

How Pierre McGuire got "Inside the Glass"

            Pierre McGuire made his way onto Canada’s top sports television network on TSN to talk about the National Hockey League (NHL) trade deadline in 1998. The deadline was a subject matter McGuire was comfortable with. Having coached in the NHL for five years prior, McGuire had gone through the trial and tribulations of the trade deadline. Through his connections and experience McGuire had a grasp of the mindset of everyone else currently going through it, allowing him to have a flawless first experience on air. 

            Jump ahead two years later and McGuire found himself in the lineup for TSN’s hockey coverage and now, deemed one of hockey’s best personalities on air. McGuire went on air for a guest appearance 21 years ago and never looked back making a hall of fame career out of it. He says, “I never in a million years thought that I would be doing this for work”. 

            McGuire thought it would be a quick one or two year stint with TSN and he would go back to coaching. However, he loved the electrifying feeling of being between the glass at ice level giving the audience a sense of the fast-paced energy on the ice. He saw a future with sports broadcasting. Although it took commentating the World Junior Hockey Championship gold medal game in 2003 that he knew he wanted to make a career out of sports broadcasting. 

            McGuire has played hockey at the college level, he’s coached hockey at the professional level, and now broadcasted hockey at the international level. Although, he has yet to run a hockey team. With being a general manager of a professional team on his mind, McGuire says, “the T.V. situation is pretty darn good”. It would take a lot to peal Pierre McGuire away from inside the glass. 

Chris Carlson: Embracing High School Sports As A Sports Writer

"I read the sports pages every morning. I folded the paper over my cereal bowl and memorized the stats to impress my grandparents." Chris Carlson grew up in a sports loving family that provided him the environment he loved where he could eat, breathe, and sleep sports.

Growing up in Boston, it was easy for Chris to surround himself with sports outside of home too. Chris went to see the Red Sox and Bruins with his friends whenever he could. "When I was a teenager, one of the first things I was allowed to do by myself or with friends was to go see hockey games. It was that first taste of independence, going somewhere without your parents having to chaperone you."

Chris later attended Syracuse University, where he wrote for the Daily Orange. Moving on from college, Carlson's first job was in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. "It was a very small town, they had division three schools and its high school sports where none of the athletes really went on to anywhere big so even division three college sports they were seen as star athletes. I got paid $25,000 starting out which is not an easy way to live."

"My biggest challenge starting out was definitely finances. In this business you're never getting rich but it's enough to do what you love and that is probably the case for most young journalists now is managing finances."

As for tips to upcoming sports writers, Chris had this to say. "Embrace covering high school or college level sports. Even today I enjoy going back and covering those things now because those people want the coverage, they want to spend their time with you. They want to share their stories with you."

The Transformation of Student-Athlete Development through the Lens of an Athlete

The Transformation of Student-Athlete Development through the Lens of an Athlete 

An Interview with Cameron Spera 

            “If you put energy and effort into something you're going to get something out of it. But if you don't then you're not and it's really that simple.” 

            As a former student-athlete for Syracuse University, Cameron Spera understands the expectations young men and women are held to on a daily basis. Through her experience as the vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, SAAC, Spera fell in love with the ins-and-outs of college athletics. 

            “So I think my involvement in SAAC is really one of the main reasons why I'm here today because that was really how I got introduced to all of this. I kind of saw what it was all about and I loved it.”            

Spera understands the power student-athletes possess to become catalyst of change in their communities and wants to support them through student-athlete engagement. 

“I’ve seen it since I’ve started to get more and more involved in it in these last couple of years, evolving from being a student-athlete to now being in a staff position like my position didn't exist when I was in school.”  

The growth within student-athlete engagement is on the rise and Spera knows that eventually all athletic programs will begin to invest in the holistic enrichment of their players. 

A Lesson From Laura Rutledge

Sideline reporter and SEC Network host, Laura Rutledge, didn't get to where she is without this one lesson. Work hard, but don’t be too hard on yourself. Rutledge's journey began when she wanted to make some extra cash to pay for her college tuition. She worked at a radio station on campus which made six dollars an hour and was chosen to cover sports.

Knowing she liked sports, she didn’t know if she could talk about it on air. Rutledge learned she loved covering sports but knew there was going to be a few challenges getting into the industry.

“What's been a challenge ….. has just been balancing all the different types of topics. Everything from the NBA to college football, college basketball, to softball…. I love that part of it, and embrace that challenge, but it's difficult at times…..”

Rutledge said the main thing that helped her succeed was repetition. Watching broadcasts and other sideline reporters, getting reps and filming her own videos, she learned that being a sideline reporter, couldn’t just be taught.

Rutledge’s biggest lesson is to not put too much pressure on yourself. To have success in this business she said, you should put some pressure on yourself. Rutledge’s advice was to take a deep breath and be okay with knowing that you still need to learn. The timing of the success you will have, will all happen when it’s supposed to.

Rutledge says, “It is okay to have failures, and you will, it’s inevitable, and I hate failure more than anything in the world, but I sure have had my fair share of it, and I’m going to have more of it…you’re just going to make mistakes, and you’re just going to have to get over it and learn pass it… you have to know it’s going to be okay.”

Mike Trudell: No Luck Just Work

For Mike Trudell the dream of being involved in sports was evident early on. But which sport, what job, and what lifestyle didn't just appear on his desk...it came through understanding his own personal sense of self confidence and self worth.

Growing up in Minnesota Trudell became fascinated with what limited sports were on TV. "We didn't have cable but we had WGN," Trudell said. "Which had all the Cubs and all of the Chicago Bulls games, so I kind of fell in love watching Jordan in the Bulls in the 80s."

The curiosity of the sports industry only increased as Trudell found himself as a prominent soccer player with multiple collegiate offers. Once realizing the ceiling of his soccer potential, Trudell owned the fact that he could make a living in the sports media world.

He began to materialize his career and studied sports broadcasting and journalism at Northwestern.  Prior to leaving college for the workforce, Trudell said he felt he had to keep pushing himself to get better everyday because he owed it to himself and any any future employer.

"This could be as a sports journalist, it could be as a plumber, it could be as a lawyer or a doctor it doesn't matter," said Trudell.

Well when a future employer such as the Lakers calls there is no room for hesitation. Trudell's work ethic carried over to the NBA and led him now to his up coming tenth season with the Lakers.

When looking back at the journey Trudell was pleased with the path he took and believes the opportunities didn't just magically appear.

"I'm glad that it worked out the way that it did," Trudell said. "But I'm also not really a believer in luck, I think that you make your own luck. And you can always take the initiative to change your direction each year."

From the Couch to the Sideline: How Alexa Ross's Father Sparked her Passion for Sports Journalism

Alexa Ross stood on the sidelines of the Temple University football game. The Owls were playing the Stony Brook Seawolves. It was freezing cold, the play was bad, but Ross knew she was exactly where she always wanted to be. “I was helping talk, I was tweeting, I was reporting,” she says. “This is so cool; this is exactly what I want to do.”

This was Ross’s junior year at Temple University, but her passion began a long time ago in her living room with her father. “I would sit on the couch all day, every day, every Sunday watching all of the games,” she says. “We would do an analysis.” Those hours in front of the television turned into hours on fields, courts, and of course cameras. The spark that was lit by fond moments with her father continues to burn bright in Ross.

“I knew that I always wanted to do some kind of story-telling,” she says. Now, that is exactly what she does. Her passion for story-telling and sports has led her to become the reporter and anchor she wanted to be and, on Monday, she is moving to Rochester to take begin a new job in an even bigger market.  

Photo courtesy of @AlexaRossTV

You can access the link to the full interview HERE.
You can access the full transcript HERE.