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daeneryses · 6 years ago

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im sorry i have to rant again

i just cant understand how u can fuck up e v e r y s i n g l e o n e of your characters in one (1) episode

WHAT THE FUCK

god knows 2014 me wanted pol!sansa more than life itself BUT NOT LIKE THIS. she’s supposed to be kind and intelligent and c o u r t e o u s and have more than two functional braincells. she’s not supposed to be LF reborn or ms cersei lannister wannabe.

why is she scheming behind her brothers back. why does she hate daenerys so much. why is she the way she is. WHY IS SHE TRUSTING TYRION. this is the biggest mess i have ever seen. she goes against dany as if the north had more than 12 survivors im sorry but I HAVE TO LAUGH BC DANY STILL HAS (HAD) 1 (2) WHOLE ASS DRAGON(S). like if this was a well written conflict i would be enjoying my Clash of Queens but ts just PURE CLOWNERY BECAUSE THEY NEVER EXPLAIN WHY SANSA DESPISES DANY. SHE ISN’T JUST WEARY OF HER SHE STRAIGHT UP HATES HER. my girl sansa is a smart bitch do u really think she’d want to burn (lol) bridges with the most powerful player atm???THEY NEED TO REBUILD WINTERFELL AND THE WHOLE ASS 12 NORTHERNERS WHO SURVIVED THE AVERAGE LENGTH NIGHT AIN’T GONNA BE ENOUGH. MMAYBE THE UNDEAD DEMONS ARE DEAD BUT IT IS STILL WINTER THEY NEED PROVISIONS (although, to be fair, there aren’t many people left)

god

i dont even think there’s a single powerful house in the north anymore (besides the starks) like who would even rally to them who would they be ruling over i d o n t g e t i t.

also wtf is gonna happen to the glovers???? they betrayed their liege lords and nothing’s gonna happen to them??? GUESS WE’LL NEVER KNOW BECAUSE FUCK CONSEQUENCES. CONSEQUENCES ONLY APPLY TO DAENERYS TARGARYEN NOW APPARENTLY.

why is she emulating the worst of LF did she learn nothing? am i in hell? if she thinks jon is such an imbecile (which, i agree!!!) WHY does she want him on the throne. why, all of a sudden, everyone wants jon on the throne? the dude doesnt WANT IT!!! mAyBe thE BeST ruLErS dOnT wANt To rULe yeah well varys how did robert baratheon turned out????

god the northern plotline really sucked ass. and i really had hope. i really really did. i should have known the story was fucked up the second they sent sansa to marry ramsey instead of fArya.

ITS ALSO SO FRUSTRATING WATCHING THEM MERGE CHARACTERS TOGETHER

the whole ass mess we’re about to get with jon and dany is happening solely because they didn’t want to include fAegon. and okay, no biggie, but u cant have ur cake and eat it too. if there is no fAegon u cant have a targbowl. u cant have a golden company. and u should have figured out a way to write cersei out of the story bc by the looks of it fAegon is gonna deal w her in the series. jesus fucking christ. but they couldnt do that could they? which is the reason why we’re 2 episoded away from the grand finale and cersei is still on the throne, the NK (arguably the Great Other) is dead and jon is gonna murder dany. neat. totally not nihilistic. super bittersweet. a+ story telling. IM IN HELL.

Jon and the Young Griff are so....different....how can u even fathom the idea of merging them,,,,when their motivations are so so so so so different. their stories, their motivations, their goals, their upbringing. how much of a dumbass do you have to be to think they could share a storyline.

they also sloppily merged ELLARIA SAND AND ARIANNE MARTELL, with a mix of fucking darkstar in there with the whole “lets assassinate myrcella lol that should work” plan. HOW DID THEY MANAGE TO FUCK THAT UP SO BADLY. DID THEY READ ELLARIA’S SPEECH ABT HOW VENGEANCE DOES NOTHING? HOW SHE WANTED THE SAND SNAKES (the real sandsnakes not....whatever THAT was) TO STOP BECAUSE THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE NEVER ENDS???? IMAGINE INDIRA VARMA DELIVERING THAT SPEECH G*D I WAS ROBBED. but they said “hey, u know what’d be neat? having a deceased prince’s paramour and his three bastard daughters overthrow an ancient noble house and face no repercusions whatsoever from the people (who canonnically loved oberyn) yeah that sounds h a r d c o r e”. house martell is dead and so am i.

and now, arguably The Worst Of Them All: they merged arya and lady stoneheart. fucking stoneheart dude. s t o n e h e a r t. somehow, zombie!cat who is hell bent on revenge and living, sentient arya stark share the same goals. dont get me wrong i’ve been a little bit of a hypocrite bc i sure as hell cheered when arya obliterated house frey. we got that, but at what cost? i’d rather not have that scene and have a human arya stark who is not obsessed with murder and can grow as a character and, u know, be a fucking human being.

i need a whole post to rant about the arya and stoneheart merge

this has been rough bc throughout the years i’ve seen them butcher storylines and fuck things up but i always wanted to think that it was for the best. the show is not the books, after all. george doesn’t have a budget or deadlines, he can take his sweet time (as he has been doing) and build incredibly complex plotlines and keep adding characters and its okay. d&d dont have that. but i dont think its fair to monumentally fuck characters up the way they have been doing.

i dont mind the divergence from the books, i think they are way too rich for any visual media, the plotlines are too intrincate, and d&d had to end the story one way or another. they could tell their own story, it didn’t have to live up to the grand finale of ASOIAF, but they had to respect their audiences.

thorughout the years, whenever i saw what they were doing i was sure they had a reason. that they had an ending planned and all the cuts were made because those particular aspects of the story didn’t matter in whatever ending they had planned. but this season (particularly last episode) has proven me wrong. they never knew wtf they were doing, they just want to shoot cool scenes and that’s it. and now we’re gonna get a half-assed ending that they have only now started to foreshadow and hint at. because they never knew wtf they were doing.

THESE TWO IDIOTS REALLY TOOK ONE OF THE RICHEST PIECES OF FANTASY LITERATURE EVER WRITTEN AND CRUSHED IT THE FUCK DOWN.

EVEN WORST. THEY TOOK THEIR OWN STORY, THE STORY THEY HAD BEEN HINTING AT, AND TORE IT THE FUCK DOWN.

im so mad u have no idea

#got rant #this is like super negative and contains leaks so #dont even open this u dnt wanna read this

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jackaccletonfutureworks · 8 years ago

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DD2000 - Research blog for a path into industry

Portfolios and their importance

Now before we even get to the building up to our chosen job and how we get there we have to talk about arguably the first and most important step when going into any industry, a good portfolio.

A portfolio in definition is according to many sources such as google, the oxford dictionaries and the free dictionary

a set of pieces of creative work intended to demonstrate a person's ability to a potential employer.

Example: "she had a portfolio of crayon portraits"

now reading the definition you should get an idea as to why a portfolio is quite the important tool in any industry but allow me to elaborate, a portfolio usually contains all of your best and well presented work that you wish to show off to a future employer in the hopes that it will impress them enough to consider you for the role available and hire you into it.

Even if that doesnt happen they are important tools for ensuring people dont soon forget you, if its good enough your employer might talk to his co-workers about it and the work that was in it, might recommend you to other companies and give you an easy-ish way into the industry, not only that but if its up online somewhere it can allow none industry people to view it and get invested in the work you do, get invested in your ideas and anything to do with them and begin to support you and want more of your work which is hard to ignore from people in the industry.

But an important part of a portfolio is to make sure it fits the job role, its nice that its all neatly presented and stunning work but if your going for a modelling job and bring in cool doodles of swords instead they will more than likely enjoy them but dont cross your fingers for the job or even being well remembered in a good way.

Now lets take that Modeling job as an example, if your looking into that job there are some things that would work well in your Porfolio

What to include generally

Some well constructed and unique models to show your skill, talent and creativity. Make sure to have beauty shots (Three angles) a Uv render (Shows off the uv maps of the models showing you do know how to Map and texture) and a wireframe

some more bland models that everyone has but it shows you can model things of this type, guns, corridors things like that

all of the work should be finished and if not it should be a w.i.p showing of how the model developed or something you are working on recently and wish to say “this is my latest project”

Portfolio : About myself

Every portfolio for every job must be different and suited for the job role your looking to invest into. Now my portfolio will have me looking into narrative design so there are some things i do need to include when constructing mine and things i need to look out for

What i should include

Well written stories of varying length and style as well as on different matters and subjects to give a quick look at the range i can write at and my ability with different styles and topics

Character development if possible, Original character, fan characters and things like that, let people in the industry see the work and love put into them and how you created them from the ground up, even include the most trivial detail if needed it will show how i think about even the smallest things for characters and bring them to life

Same applies for world building, show worlds you crated and the living breathing atmosphere they have, show off head canons and theories about already made worlds if you wish

Show dialogue and scripts made, this includes roleplaying and back and forth between characters of your own and friends

Work done that is not narrative directly but does still link to it

Any writing done for games, this includes small projects and twine games

Now what have i done to go towards this portfolio as of writing this?

I have written many short stories and poems some better than others i cannot lie however i tend to struggle sometimes with motivation in writing longer tales if they are not split into parts either via working time or as part 1, part 2 etc, 3 twine games which could be improved but stand at a decent enough quality and i do intend to create more, have an entire blog built for role playing (character creation and building, dialogue, world building) this is where i let alot of my ideas roam free as well as some of my more out there character traits, this character has spawned off into his own story and world view from a character that had nothing to start with, he has spawned countless side characters and alternate realities surrounding him and all of them have their own stories and worlds not to mention many pieces of college work.

All of these very important in the portfolio especially for the job role im looking to enter.

General Examples of both good and bad portfolio's

Networking

Networking is in short terms the connections you make with people be them big or small, it forms a web coming from you of connections you made. If you meet David and David knows Susan but you dont know Susan, she is still now in your web of networking due to knowing David.

Networking is important to the industry at it is a key way to get into the industry and get yourself known to people, without the links to people it would be almost impossible to get a way into the industry without directly going up to someone and asking for a job or applying yourself.

Networking can also offer unexpected help from people inside the industry through simply talking to them.

But how can networking help my career path into a narrative games career?

More importantly what kinds of networking could help my cause?

Well the obvious one to start off in narrative would be social media, its a great place to store and write small stories or tales and build character/worlds. It is also perfect for getting your small tales out to a large audience of people very quickly.

Take tumblr for example, its blogging allows for quick short stories or grand giant multi-post tales to be re-blogged , twitter is also a good example here as many industry insiders use twitter and could be a great way to share your narrative ideas and work with them to get feedback and make yourself known to them

It is also a prime location to show off portfolio w.i.p work and gain interest in what else is inside your portfolio both from regular people and industry insiders which could lead to job offers or simply having you in mind when a place does come up

Another prime example would be Game conventions, they allow for examination of upcoming games as well as series of games with over arching stories as well as the idea of communication with industry insiders as well as games media about games and your general idea. It could also provide you with skills and much needed tips if your willing to buy some people a beer. Game designers are just people like you and me so most of them have no issue sitting down to talking.

There are a few that take place here in the UK :

EGX - EGX is a British made Gaming Convention sponsored by Virgin media and s currently set to take place in the Birmingham NEC arena on the 21st -24th of September

Play Expo - Play Expo is a British games convention set in Manchester England at event city.

There is one that comes to mind and does take place in the US

Ludem Dare - Ludem Dare is a game jam hosted this year in San Francisco that gives people a theme and 24/48 hours to create a game, this allows people in the industry to see how people work under a tight deadline and the quality of games they can create with minimal information. It also allows for the people involved to brush up on their skills or develop new ones.

Well i say one but you cant talk US and game gatherings without mentioning

E3 - E3 is a yearly multi company convention in which the biggest games are shown and revealed and many of the gaming industries top professionals visit to give their games that needed star power, a place like this is perfect to ask questions, build connections and show off work you had done in hopes of making an impression

One important thing to know about networking overall however is that you should never be afraid to talk to someone or ask questions to them, they are not some untouchable idol who will simply scoff at you, they are infact just as human as you are and i imagine they they have trouble talking to a person from time to time. Plus there is only things to gain instead of things to lose

The Ideal Work Place/Key Companies In My Field

When it comes to an ideal work place that generally comes down to preference, some might want to work for Bethesda, maybe you want to work for EA but this is in general terms which company would be the best suited for the field i would like to enter

The first company that instantly jumps put for narrative focused games would be tell tale who have generally been known to create heavily emotional narrative focused point and click/episodic games based on existing IP’s such as The walking dead, borderlands and game of thrones

https://telltale.com/ - 4000 Civic Center Dr, San Rafael, CA 94903, USA

https://telltale.com/jobs/

As of this moment in time they are only looking for a senior writer in the job field i wish however that doesnt mean i cant apply for another job they are in need of to work my way into a writing position for example they are always looking for q/a testers so using that i can wiggle into a narrative design or writer role by suggesting things that could improve the story experience or helping with the writing of scripts and dialogue.

An issue with telltale however is it is hard to single out a game from their library as more narrative focused or important than any other, walking dead offers a dark saddening take on the world where every option and choice you make will have an impact later. This is in stark contrast to say tales from the borderlands which yes does have a similar choices matter mentality however the story in that game is less serious and grim and more light hearted and lovely.

With tell-tale they cover so much ground in their narrative focused games its hard to single one of them out alone

Not a company that comes to mind when thinking of narrative but one that i would enjoy a job at would be gearbox, they are mainly known for creating the borderlands franchise and as of now are in the process of making the third game . Their narratives tend to be somewhat serious but have a lighthearted tone to them with alot of dirty humor.

Borderlands and its sequels probably are the most notable games they have created and do narrative in an inventive way in that it is both serious yet not at all serious at the same time i mean....the planet your on is in grave danger from a tyrant hell bent on wiping life as you know it off the planet with an alien doom weapon, but at the same time the villian mocks you with such childish insults and sarcastic nonsense its hard to take it seriously, even more so with some of the side missions like “shot this guy in the faace” which is exactly as it sounds.

http://www.gearboxsoftware.com/ - 5757 Main St, Frisco, TX 75034, USA

http://www.gearboxsoftware.com/careers/

Gearbox software have an odd internship program that allows people of all skill levels to join and it is called the cogs program, in their own words the cogs program is

“The COGS program at Gearbox Software is designed for future game developers to get a chance to start their careers by becoming embedded with the veteran, professional developers at our world-class video game development studio and actually contribute to a commercial video game project. It’s the real deal. This is the foot in the door. This is the chance to prove yourself.

The COGS program differs from a traditional internship because Gearbox Software will actually pay you during your time at the studio. What?! Did you read that right?! Yes, we’re going to pay you to prove yourself. We must be nuts.But forget about us being nuts for a minute – the COGS program is as real as Clap Trap’s malfunctioning artificial personality.

COGS stands for Contractors of Gearbox Software – you will get a contract and it will say that you have become an actual, official, paid professional inside the studio that is home of Borderlands, Duke Nukem, Brothers in Arms, Homeworld, Battleborn, and Randy Pitchford’s flamboyant shirts. The contract terms can be for as little as three months or as long as a year, depending on the timing and the role. During that time you’ll get free soda. Also during that time you’ll contribute to a real commercial product at our AAA development studio earning valuable experience and credit that will not merely be rewarding and insanely gratifying, but will also set-you-up to be very valuable and sought after by the industry. And there’s free snacks to wash down with the soda. Did I already mention the soda? It’s a cool deal.”

quote directly from here

This is all to simply prove if you deserve a job or not

Key people in my field

http://www.evanskolnick.com/games

His portfolio is rather well put together and lists all of his skills and accomplishments as well as any and all of the projects he has worked on it also seems to show his wide range of work as he has taken part in narrative roles on project such as mafia 3 which is full of gore and racial angles and tension to the kid friendly hi-jinks filled over the hedge game and movie.

This is a portfolio i should keep an eye on and learn from

https://twitter.com/evanskolnick?lang=en

Evan Skolnick is an american born writer who has previous worked on marvel comics as a lead writer and now has jumped into narrative video game design, his most recent project/job being the walking dead : a new frontier by telltale which makes him a key player not only in my field but a company based solely around the field i wish to work in

has a book out called : video game story telling, what every developer needs to know about narrative techniques

the description of the book and what it may offer

“With increasingly sophisticated video games being consumed by an enthusiastic and expanding audience, the pressure is on game developers like never before to deliver exciting stories and engaging characters. With Video Game Storytelling, game writer and producer Evan Skolnick provides a comprehensive yet easy-to-follow guide to storytelling basics and how they can be applied at every stage of the development process—by all members of the team. This clear, concise reference pairs relevant examples from top games and other media with a breakdown of the key roles in game development, showing how a team’s shared understanding and application of core storytelling principles can deepen the player experience. Understanding story and why it matters is no longer just for writers or narrative designers. From team leadership to game design and beyond, Skolnick reveals how each member of the development team can do his or her part to help produce gripping, truly memorable narratives that will enhance gameplay and bring today’s savvy gamers back time and time again.“

Edwin McRae isnt noteworthy due to the work he has done, though he has worked on many smaller titles and mobile games as a narrative designer and world builder. He is more notable due to his constant advice and tutorials on how to become a better narrative designer and how to build a living breathing world from scratch

He too like Evan has a book or two to be purchased and read which can be found here : https://www.edmcrae.com/books-and-comics.cfm

Another good narrative designer to take a look at would be Daniel Dick, he describes himself as follows

“ I'm a Narrative Director & Writer with over 15 years of industry experience creating, building, and implementing successful narratives (including multiple AAA titles). I also recently designed a narrative design and game writing course for the University of British Columbia's Creative Writing Program.”

Some notable projects he has worked on include

★ DEUS EX: MANKIND DIVIDED Narrative Director Eidos Montreal ★ HOMEWORLD: DESERTS OF KHARAK Narrative Director BBI / Gearbox ★ SPEC-OPS Lead Narrative Designer & Writer Rockstar Vancouver ★ BULLY Narrative Designer & Writer Rockstar Vancouver ★ SOCOM: TACTICAL STRIKE Lead Writer & Narrative Designer Slant Six / Sony ★ SOCOM: FIRETEAM BRAVO 3 Lead Writer & Narrative Designer Slant Six / Sony ★ NEED FOR SPEED & SSX Story Consultant & Contract Writer Electronic Arts ★ TREASURE PLANET Game Designer & Writer Barking Dog / Disney ★ THE DAMASCUS LETTER: A Spy Novel Author Finalist for the AMAZON BREAKTHROUGH NOVEL AWARD in 2011.

His portfolio on Linkden is also very well put together and will have to keep an eye on this one as well

https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieldick/

The skills i need

When it comes to narrative design in general there are certain skills you will need when entering the field.

Atleast basic knowledge on pacing and tone to a story, you cant have characters fighting an epic war then suddenly 2 seconds later have a clown filled tea party only to mourn their friends for a solid hour or two after that, it kills both the tone your going for and pacing. Keep it balanced and consistent

Understand character and world building, it good to create a world or character but if they are blank slates of boring with a side of boring pie then no one will care.

To create a breathing living world you must think about every detail and bit of history, what does this town do for the world, why is this ruin here, where do these enemies live etc. However be careful as you cannot make a game with backstory and word building alone and people do not want to have to sit through hours of lore.

Characters are harder to build, they can have preset fears and goals and motivations and even backstories however alot of the time they need to grow alongside the player and inside the events of your narrative. If a character loses something precious to them show it, if they are tried from a long battle show it, if they have been beaten badly and took a massive hit to their pride again show it to the player and in the character.

Script/dialogue writing skills and understanding what goes into creating them. Make sure every bit of dialogue fits who it is meant for perfectly and try to avoid repetition if possible. Ensure scripts are clear to read for the voice actors

Ability to take critique and improve from it, maybe someone thinks a certain aspect of your narrative is a bit off and wants to give feedback, it would be your job to take that feedback in and maybe change the narrative a bit to fit it.

Interpersonal skills, do you really think your going to be working alone....yeah no it doesnt work like that as you will be with a team of writers more than likely who will be throwing in ideas into this world or character and trying to make them perfect. Listen to what they have to say and work with them. Plus you will be working with other departments, maybe the environment designer needs specific dialogue for a fire area and you need to take a look at the area to gauge what kind of dialogue to fit into it, Maybe the character designer needs help figuring out how this character might speak and what they could even say

You have to have the ability to understand the genre of what it is your writing, cant have a kid friendly platformer suddenly have sexual jokes and decapitations now can we?

Organization in your writing is a good skill to possess as well as good motivation skills and time management

My work and evaluating it/General Evaluation

Now that i have mentioned the skills needed and the work i have done it is time to evaluate it bit by bit and see if i meet the standards set above and if not how can i achieve them from where i am now

My work

Short stories and poems tend to come to me in the moment and usually come from my already made characters, existing characters from movies/tv/games or from some random idea i had in my mind. However as mention before they tend to be a one time thing and rarely branch out and become longer, any longer story usually gets forgotten about due to motivational or memory issues even if broken into parts (For example i got 5 parts into a dark souls 3 story before forgetting it and never really going back to continue it). If i wish to get into narrative i need to work on long stories

The few twine games i have made so far are at a time where i have minimal knowledge of twine and one of them i cannot add to my porfolio due to content inside it. They are not nearly to the standard they could or should be and i should spend time completing and working on them to put them at the level i believe they could be.

The blog is personally my proudest bit of writing, i started the blog with a charcter based on an ingame mario enemy that had no backstory or anything, no personifcation or even personality. I took this enemy and gave it life and a soul, gave it wants and needs and fears and a personality, it has goals and a past now and as said has spawned countless Alternate worlds and ideas from it due to the story i have told with him. However alot of the writing tends to be very informal and dailouge based and the blog also has some informal and silly content to go through, will need to isolate the writing from this blog to show on the portfolio

As said he has spawned countless characters off of himself, from a sweet gentle shy king, to an evil dominating tyrant, a lonely yet wise last of his kind hunter, a sickening horrific yet lovable spider hybrid creature, a shy 1 limbed mechanic looking into necromancy to power his robotics to be honest this is stuff to include in the portfolio however it mention it here as no matter how many characters i do have i should continue to add more to the mix and develop them every chance i get to do so.

Skills and myself overall

In terms of skills i would like to atleast believe i own some of the needed skills for my job role, a basic understanding of pacing and tone, world and character building experience as well as interpersonal skills and abilities. Perhaps i do struggle a small amount with critique as sometimes it dont learn or go back to redo what is told of me.

Out side of skills to myself in general im a generally approachable and creative guy who could keep tensions low and ensure that everyone in the company is keeping themselves happy and destressed, i would also like to believe im willing to advance and learn even if it is painful.

But to evaluate you have to speak of the bad too, which is sometimes i can be very unmotivated and avoid/put off work for as long as possible even if i understand and know i have work. I can also get frustrated easilly with things that i cannot do or do not understand, if i wish to advance in my industry i willl need to put these under lock and key

My path into industry due to what i have found here

Due to the information i have found here there are a few paths into industry i can take

i can look for a indie or triple A developer looking for a q/a tester and work into the company from there offering the skills i do have to help construct the game and help any struggling member of the team during my none working hours, this iwll show them my previously obtained skills and allow them to remember me above all the other Q/A testers thus getting a foot in the door

I could also use my Voice acting talent and get in through that, voice a character and offer changes and help to the script as well as developing the character which again gives me a foot into the door.

another option is to wiggle into games journalism, this way i can write about and meet many developers as well as play some of the hottest games before anyone else and offer my opinion on them and what could be changed.

#FWDD2000

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samanthasroberts · 7 years ago

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Alex Rodriguez is Major League Baseball’s last megastar, and that’s OK

David Lengel: A-Rods fame transcends baseball; plus, Prince Fielder retires, Gary Sheffield demands respect for Tim Tebow and the Mets manager Terry Collins is under fire

All the way to the bitter end, and it is bitter, the fans want A-Rod. On Tuesday night, with Alex Rodriguez bizarrely left out of the lineup by the Yankees manager, Joe Girardi, Boston Red Sox fans chanted his name at Fenway Park, letting Bombers brass know they made a mistake by sitting the slugger who is (for now) set to retire after one more big night in the Bronx, this coming Friday against Tampa Bay.

Can you blame the Yankees for sticking it to their man, even if he was, at least seemingly, provided with a graceful exit plan on Sunday? After all, were talking about player who tried to torch his employers, the league he played in and the union who helped guarantee most of his 10-year, $275m deal during a scorched-earth defense of his role in the Biogenesis PED scandal.

Except this shouldnt be about the Yankees settling scores, this is about pure entertainment. And with the clock running down on one of the most significant sporting careers this country has ever known, limiting the owner of 696 of the most controversial home runs in history to pinch-hit duty is the direct opposite of giving fans what they want.

Yes, they still want A-Rod, a player who cant hit like he used to, but can still light up talk radio switchboards for hours, rattle social media and fill countless pages with pixel after pixel. In an era where content is in demand like never before, A-Rod has been just that: walking, living, breathing, never-ending content. At the next Baseball Writers Association dinner, they should give A-Rod an award for enriching their lives with some of the most colorful, controversial and polarizing stories theyll ever scribble. He deserves it, because another A-Rod isnt going to walk into the sport anytime soon.

A-Rod is arguably, along with his ex-team-mate, Derek Jeter, the most recognizable name in modern baseball times, and not just to sports fans, to everybody. A-Rod has transcended the game in a way almost all ballplayers dont. In retirement, his place in mainstream gossip columns will continue, especially if he sticks with billionaire CEO and co-founder of 23andMe Anne Wojcicki, who was once married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin: know any other baseball players who have landed in Vanity Fair lately?

The NFL has their Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and until last season, Peyton Manning, while the NBA has their LeBron James and a host of strong second-tier stars. After A-Rod, baseball has nobody on or near that level of national, crossover stardom.

Think about all the game-changing talent that is around the league today: Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw, Jake Arrieta, Jose Altuve, Kris Bryant: the list of standouts goes on for a very long time, but theres no one that moves the needle like A-Rod, who is known by 50% of all Americans six years or older according to Q-Scores. Bryce Harper, who did make a late-night appearance with Jimmy Fallon in May, and is by far the least vanilla young ballplayer around, is the next highest at 20% awareness.

Alex Rodriguez (@AROD) October 30, 2015

Had a blast on my first time on @fallontonight with @jimmyfallon. pic.twitter.com/Gi3HjYu3rR

Every circuit wants to market its stars, who are the one of the main reasons the Big Four leagues are the behemoths they are today. But in todays sports world, MLB operates well despite the fact that their players have lower national awareness than those from other major North American sports leagues.

The league may wish their national ratings for all-star games and the post-season were rising rather than falling, but in MLB today, all of that matters much less overall. Their digital service, 33% of which was just picked up by Disney, is valued at a staggering $3.5bn, while local television and radio perform well. Their biggest issue is finding a way to maintain the status quo when it comes to the billions of dollars in local revenues earned via cable bundling, where many fans who dont watch an inning of baseball have been subsidizing huge rights deals for years and years.

So really, the model of pushing stars to drive national awareness across Major League Baseball has more or less been on life support for many years, meaning that the days of grandiose ad campaigns, as rare as theyve been, probably went out with Jeter.

As for Rodriguez, well, based on ticket sales for Fridays game, which is being broadcast nationally on Fox, hes certain to go out with a bang, whether he swings and misses or hits yet another A-bomb. As always, A-Rod will make an impact, simply by showing up.

Video of the week

ICYMI: Manny Machado: three at bats, three home runs in three innings, single handedly wrecking the White Sox on a Sunday afternoon. Thats one heck of a third of a game for the Orioles slugger who is breaking out from his breakout seasons. Is he your MVP? He certainly deserves to be in the American League conversation.

Manny from Mercury.

Quote of the Week

Take your stupid baseball team and get out.

Documents obtained by AZCentral.com say thats what Maricopa County supervisor Andy Kunasek said to Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall during an April tirade. The county, which includes the city of Phoenix, has denied the D-Backs $65m in ballpark renovations in an ongoing dispute that could threaten Arizonas long-term future at Chase Field. Kunasek also told Hall to go back to fucking West Virginia.

Whos closer to victory: Donald Trump or the Cubs?

Well, you would like to think that in a week that Le Grande Orange alluded to a possible assassination threat to a would-be presidential-elect, that the Trumpster would be farther away from victory than ever before. However, we also know that Trump bounces back easier than one of those 25 rubber balls your kid makes you buy outside the pizza shop: the Dems should limit any embarrassing high-fives.

The Cubs? Well, whatever was eating at them in July, when they were, somewhat amazingly, just 12-16, is done and dusted. Chicago raced out to a 8-0 mark this month, and their July to August ERA dropped from 4.47 to 1.29, while their OPS popped by over 60 points during the same span. That makes the Cubbies easy winners this week.

How did the kids piss off Goose Gossage this week?

The St Louis Cardinals, down 4-0 on Monday night to the Cincinnati Reds, on the verge of a three-game losing streak, got yet another gift from God. After rallying from a 4-0 ninth inning deficit, Yadier Molina stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and brought the winning home run by any means necessary.

Yadier does it again.

Theres only one thing worse than a bases-loaded walk to end a ballgame a bases loaded hit by pitch. Molina didnt exactly run away from Ross Ohlendorfs offering, and so Goose may be thinking that is one bush league way to win. Then again, hes probably thinking what we most of us think when the Cardinals somehow find a way to rise from the dead, and thats not printable here.

Nine thoughts in order

1) Prince Fielder is retiring from baseball after a second neck surgery forced the Rangers DH to call it quits. Aside from the sad news that one of the games most prodigious sluggers is retiring, it now confirms that then Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski made one heck of a deal when he shipped Fielder to Texas in exchange for Ian Kinsler. By the time Fielders deal runs out, he will have been paid $138m for 34 home runs and a .760 OPS over 289 games. The Tigers will have paid $62m for Kinsler up until 2018, which includes a $5m buyout of the final year of his deal, but doesnt count the $30m they kicked over to Texas to help pay Fielders deal. So for $92m total, Detroit have received an .794 OPS, in over 400 games and counting, with the second baseman currently enjoying his best season since 2008. Theres some relief for Texas however – its reported that some $36m of the remaining deal will be covered by insurance. Fielder retires with the same number of home runs as his father Cecil: 319.

2) Toronto Blue Jays starting center fielder Kevin Pillar is out with for at least two weeks with sprained thumb ligaments, and considering the way he routinely bounces around the Rogers Centre outfield walls and dives into its turf, its a real wonder how he wasnt injured sooner. Luckily, GM Ross Atkins, who is quietly patting his own back this week, has an everyday center fielder in Melvin Upton to replace him. Upton is enjoying something of a comeback season, but has been slow to get going in T Dot now hell get his chance to play every day and make that deal look even better.

3) Tim Tebow is going to try and play baseball, allegedly, and as usual, the media are tripping over themselves to cover whatever he does. Personally, I thought he deserved more of a chance in the NFL after guiding the Broncos to the playoffs in 2011, something a whopping 10,000 Denver fans agree with after signing a petition for his return. Baseball? Well, I was tempted to write that its never, ever, EVER going to happen. Then I saw this tweet from Gary Sheffield:

Gary Sheffield (@garysheffield) August 9, 2016

I spent time w @TimTebow in the cages recently, he’s a NATURAL. I absolutley believe in his ability to play in the bigs. Tim has IT #focused

If you read Sheffields recent piece in the Players Tribune, youd have to think twice about Tebow he demands that you do! So, as per Sheffs orders, Im keeping an open mind, for now.

4) On Tuesday some 15,000 Red Sox fans learned theyd be denied a David Ortiz bobblehead doll, just hours before their game with the Yankees.

Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) August 8, 2016

We’re back home tomorrow night and we’re going big with the #BigPapi bobblehead! Get yours: https://t.co/uQuufP0I67 pic.twitter.com/Y5CzCEb5g8

I thought the bobbleheads were an inaccurate portrayal of David, said Sam Kennedy said. To go further, I thought the facial features were racially insensitive. Sox brass later announced that fans in attendance would actually be eligible to receive a more politically correct doll with a significantly thicker neck once a new figurine is made.

5) Heres an admission: my fascination with Ichiro was such that I used to write emails about him to friends before every spring. Mostly they rambled on about certain stats on how he missed just 33 games over his first 11 seasons in Seattle, or that he would have almost definitely been MLBs all-time hit king had his career started off in North America.

The first Japanese player to play the field, Ichiro is without question one of the most intriguing players in the long history of the game, and his 3,000th hit is just the latest statistical wonder surrounding his game. Ironically, after all these years of racking up hit after hit, my fondest Ichiro memory remains his throwing out of Terrance Long in 2001.

Incredible Ichiro.

6) Last month Pete Rose sued John Dowd for a statutory rape allegation the criminal defense attorney and former federal prosecutor made last year. During a 13 July 2015 radio appearance, Dowd, who lead the 1989 investigation into Roses gambling, referenced Roses ex-associate, Michael Bertolini, who allegedly told him that he ran young girls for him down in spring training, ages 12 to 14. Rose said there was no truth to the statements, which took place before the MLB commissioner, Rob Manfred, elected to not take him off the sports ineligible list in December. Now Dowd is trying to have the case dismissed, a move Roses attorney, Martin Garbus calls a stall tactic. Like anything involving Rose, this latest saga is unlikely to end anytime soon.

7) Yasiel Puigs reputation in Dodgerland continues to spiral. This time the recently demoted Puig was seen drinking beer in a party bus with a bunch of young Triple-A Oklahoma players, some of which were under the legal drinking age, having as much fun as possible inside a vehicle parked in Iowa. Unfortunately for Puig, who is just 25, these completely normal acts, which included singing, profanity and inside jokes, he posted videos of the partying on social media and so now its a full-blown controversy. Management said theyd handle it internally, while Puig merchandise was removed from Dodger Stadium stores. A word of advice to Yasiel: the nail that sticks up will be hammered down.

8) Terry Collins is under more pressure than ever after a shaky week featuring what were, more or less, indefensible decisions. On Saturday, down a run in the ninth and two outs, he didnt pinch-run for the plodding Jay Bruce, who was then thrown out at home to end the game.

Jay Bruce might be faster than anybody on our team for all I know, said Collins. I know he is a good base runner.

Bruce is new to the team, but in the age of information, there is no excuse for Collins: he has to know his players.

Making matters worse, Collins didnt challenge the call at the plate.

Mets fans have been critical of several of Collins moves this season, never mind the fact that he manages a would-be play-off team that hasnt won consecutive games since 7 July. However, few managers have had to deal with the injury issues hes faced over two seasons, and after taking New York to the World Series last season, hes probably safe for the rest of the season.

9) And finally, Clayton Kershaw is still finding ways to contribute in LA, despite being sidelined with back issues until at least 27 August. On Sunday, he led a dugout prank on Alex Wood.

LasMayores (@LasMayores) August 8, 2016

Clayton Kershaw jugandole una broma a Alex Wood. #LasMayores #MLB https://t.co/KK5eI5UkFc

A full video of Claytons stacking seeds on to the back of Wood, narrated to perfection by Vin Scully, can be found here. Rather incredibly, the Dodgers have gone 23-14 without their ace in the rotation, pulling even even with their NL West rivals, the San Francisco Giants, if only for a day. The Dodgers bullpen has played a large role in that success they have the lowest batting average against in innings seven through nine in baseball history according to SI a remarkable turnaround considering the fits LAs relief core caused their fan base over ensuing seasons.

Source: http://allofbeer.com/2017/12/01/alex-rodriguez-is-major-league-baseballs-last-megastar-and-thats-ok/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2017/12/01/alex-rodriguez-is-major-league-baseballs-last-megastar-and-thats-ok/

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allofbeercom · 7 years ago

Text

Alex Rodriguez is Major League Baseball’s last megastar, and that’s OK

David Lengel: A-Rods fame transcends baseball; plus, Prince Fielder retires, Gary Sheffield demands respect for Tim Tebow and the Mets manager Terry Collins is under fire

Alex Rodriguez (@AROD) October 30, 2015

Had a blast on my first time on @fallontonight with @jimmyfallon. pic.twitter.com/Gi3HjYu3rR

Video of the week

Manny from Mercury.

Quote of the Week

Take your stupid baseball team and get out.

Whos closer to victory: Donald Trump or the Cubs?

How did the kids piss off Goose Gossage this week?

Yadier does it again.

Nine thoughts in order

Gary Sheffield (@garysheffield) August 9, 2016

I spent time w @TimTebow in the cages recently, he’s a NATURAL. I absolutley believe in his ability to play in the bigs. Tim has IT #focused

If you read Sheffields recent piece in the Players Tribune, youd have to think twice about Tebow he demands that you do! So, as per Sheffs orders, Im keeping an open mind, for now.

4) On Tuesday some 15,000 Red Sox fans learned theyd be denied a David Ortiz bobblehead doll, just hours before their game with the Yankees.

Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) August 8, 2016

We’re back home tomorrow night and we’re going big with the #BigPapi bobblehead! Get yours: https://t.co/uQuufP0I67 pic.twitter.com/Y5CzCEb5g8

Incredible Ichiro.

Jay Bruce might be faster than anybody on our team for all I know, said Collins. I know he is a good base runner.

Bruce is new to the team, but in the age of information, there is no excuse for Collins: he has to know his players.

Making matters worse, Collins didnt challenge the call at the plate.

9) And finally, Clayton Kershaw is still finding ways to contribute in LA, despite being sidelined with back issues until at least 27 August. On Sunday, he led a dugout prank on Alex Wood.

LasMayores (@LasMayores) August 8, 2016

Clayton Kershaw jugandole una broma a Alex Wood. #LasMayores #MLB https://t.co/KK5eI5UkFc

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/2017/12/01/alex-rodriguez-is-major-league-baseballs-last-megastar-and-thats-ok/

0 notes