Results tagged ‘ Eli Manning ’
YES, please!
I have been told in life there are three types of people: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happened.
As a current high school sports reporter and MLBlogger trying to take the next step in his career, I’m at the point where I want to make it happen. And what I have in mind might provide me with that chance.
Recently I was tossing ideas around in my head, thinking of companies to apply to while job hunting, and I somehow managed to venture over to the YES Network’s career page. In the past I’ve checked out the YES Network’s career page, but there was never anything listed. This time was a little different; there was one job posted:
Social Media Specialist.
As soon as I noticed the listing, I jumped on it. I tweaked my resume, pieced together an appropriate, well-written cover letter, and gathered the right material together to apply for the job – the right material basically being proof of all the times YES has used my insight via social media on its TV shows.
On May 8, 2010 YES used a comment I posted on its official Facebook page for the “Extra Innings” postgame show. There were no words to describe my excitement level, seeing my name and comment on TV when it first happened.
Fast forward to April 10, 2011. I wrote in another Facebook comment, and once again YES used my name and my words on “Extra Innings.”
June 9, 2012, same thing.
All of this YES Network social media craze reached new heights on Aug. 6 this year when YES actually used my question during the “YES Network Games,” a contest designed for viewers to tweet in trivia questions with the commentators trying to answer them.
After my name appeared, a few of my friends attempted to stage a Twitter hashtag rally entitled, #HireAJMartelli.
The YES Network should already know (just based on the history) how finely tuned my skills are when it comes to social media. In fact ESPN should also have the same idea, considering two of my comments made it onto the exclusive Baseball Tonight show during the “Chatter Up” segment in 2008 and 2009.
It’s also not as if I’m an uneducated, inexperienced stranger. My past work in other media outside of social media speaks for itself. If I could show something to the YES Network right now, this would be it; some highlights of my young career:
- B.S. in journalism from Mercy College (class of 2010) where I served for two years as the sports editor of the Mercy student newspaper. The Mercy student paper won two New York Press Association awards while I served as sports editor, and I was awarded two Quill Awards (2009, ’10) for sports reporting, given to me by Mercy’s media studies department.
- Interviewed former Yankee and current YES personality John Flaherty while at Mercy and wrote a feature story about his career for the paper.
- Interviewed Brian Sweeney, a Major League relief pitcher who had faced the Yankees weeks before I conducted the interview.
- Worked for the Hudson Valley Renegades in 2010, assisting with baseball operations.
- Went on to cover the 2012 Hudson Valley Renegades this past season. The ‘Gades captured the New York-Penn League Championship, beating the Tri-City Valley Cats. For their successful and winning campaign, the Renegades were voted the 2012 Minor League Baseball team of the year.
- Interviewed two-time Super Bowl Champ and MVP Eli Manning at the sixth annual Guiding Eyes for the Blind Golf Classic this year.
- Have worked for the past two years (and continue to work) as a high school sports reporter. To coincide with the Yankee motif, one of my favorite times covering a high school game was sitting next to Bernie Williams, covering his daughter’s basketball game this past February. I even wrote an OP/ED that ran in the paper about how interesting it was, sitting next to a Yankee legend while working.
But I think what puts it all over the top for me is what you’re reading right now. Yankee Yapping has been lauded by MLB. It has been ranked in the top three MLBlogs and featured multiple times; it has garnered a solid amount of fanfare since I launched it in July, 2009.
The bottom line is, I have done a lot of work and paid a lot of dues. And now, if there is a chance to move up the ladder, I’d like to take it.
To anyone reading this with a Twitter page, and would like to help, tweet the link to this blog to @YESNetwork and help #HireAJMartelli.
Together, we can make it happen. Not watch it happen, or wonder what happened.
In the meantime, I have high school ice hockey to cover this weekend after the holiday. And if you were to ask me what I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving, it’s having a job in the print media field, covering sports. No matter what level it happens to be on.
Catching Up with Eli Manning
Look out, baseball world. The Yankees have caught fire.
A power surge in the eighth inning of last night’s game led to a 6-4 win for the Yanks over the Atlanta Braves, the fifth consecutive win for the boys from the Bronx. The Yankees have now won 15 of their last 19 games and are in sole possession of first place in the American League East – a game ahead of both the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays.
Alex Rodriguez did his best Superman impression, saving the day for his team. The Bombers trailed 4-0 in the eighth, and with the bases chucked, Rodriguez delivered. He launched a game-tying grand slam, a screaming line drive off reliever Jonny Venters that took practically no time to leave the yard.
It marked A-Rod’s 10th homer of the season and his 23rd career trip to granny’s house, tying him with another Yankee, Lou Gehrig, on baseball’s all-time grand slams list.
One more homer with the bases loaded, and Rodriguez is the all-time leader.
Nick Swisher then finished the job with a two-run homer later in the frame, his ninth of the year, to put the Braves away for good.
While the Swisher and A-Rod came through in the clutch last night, this week I had the opportunity to meet and interview (along with a number of other reporters) another New York sports hero who always comes up big when it matters: two-time Super Bowl Champion and MVP Eli Manning.
For the sixth straight year Manning hosted the Guiding Eyes for the Blind Golf Classic in Mount Kisco, N.Y. The Giants’ quarterback was asked by Pat Browne, a blind golf champion and friend of the Manning family from New Orleans, to attend the event six years ago. He happily accepted and each year since, he’s come back.
When I got the call from my editor to cover Manning’s appearance at the golf outing on Monday, I was absolutely ecstatic. Obviously I followed the Giants during the regular season this past year, and certainly enjoyed their Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots on Feb. 5.
I arrived to the Mount Kisco Country Club where the tournament was held and there were a lot of other media outlets present – both local and national. The Journal News, Patch, News 12, the New York Daily News, and even ESPN were all on hand.
Manning arrived and met with the press in what’s called a “media scrum,” or an informal press conference in which journalists/reporters gather around an interview subject and ask questions. On the High School sports scene, media scrums aren’t very common, so it felt extremely good to be a part of one among a group of fellow press members.
That’s me…well, the back of my head, on the right, next to the cameraman.
One reporter asked him about the recent arrest of teammate David Diehl, who was charged with a DWI earlier this week. Not knowing a lot about the situation, Manning had no comment.
After he fielded some questions, the reigning Super Bowl MVP then stood on the practice green for a demonstration. He sank a putt blindfolded, getting the feel for what blind golfers like Browne experience when they are putting.
He felt attempting to golf without sight was more difficult than throwing a game-winning touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of a football game.
“I don’t think I could play football blindfolded,” Manning said of the demo. “It’s a totally different game and I had no idea how long I was going to hit that putt.”
I then got a chance to ask him how excited he was, being that not only was he at a good event for charity, but after the golf classic he was heading to mini-camp with the Giants.
“It’s always been the day before mini-camp starts, so it’s an exciting week,” Manning answered me.
“The tournament is fun and it seems that it’s just grown and grown each year, and Guiding Eyes has grown – it’s moved on to helping kids with autism, so I’m just happy that it affects so many different people and helps peoples’ lives.”
Since no one had mentioned anything about it up until the end, I just had to go there…
“I heard Denver got a new quarterback during the off-season, and I heard he’s pretty good. If the Giants happen to play the Broncos in the future, what are you going to be thinking about?” I asked.
Manning kind of shot me that all-too-familiar “awww shucks” expression; he darted his eyes and smirked, right after I mentioned the Broncos.
“I’ll be thinking, how are we going to get some points on the board against that guy?”
Manning, myself, and the scrum of reporters let out a good-spirited laugh.
Overall, it was a great experience; one I hope to experience again with other big-ticket athletes. Manning was a great interview subject and it was a little bit of a challenge for me to keep my cool; maintain my excitement level (even as a reporter) being such a huge fan of his and the Giants.
Because at the end of the day, that’s what I am: a fan.
That Championship Season
*To all of my football lovers out there: this one is for the Giants. Because we were ALL IN.*
Before Super Bowl XLII in February of 2008, then-Giants’ wide receiver Plaxico Burress predicted his team would beat the Patriots by a score of 21-17. New York wound up beating New England in exciting fashion, 17-14. It may have taken another four years but last night Burress’s prediction finally came to fruition.
In Super Bowl XLVI the Giants beat the Patriots 21-17, in another exhilarating title match.
I can’t really explain why – maybe it’s just God’s way – but whenever the Giants and Patriots meet, the Giants seem to have their number. Two weeks ago I wrote about all the similarities between this year and their last Championship season.
And both Super Bowls proved to be just as comparable.
2007: The Patriots led at halftime, but not by a lot: 7-3.
2011: The Patriots led at halftime, and again, not by much: 10-9.
2007: Eli Manning had the ball on his own 17-yard line, Giants trailing 14-10 with just 2:39 left in the game.
2011: Eli Manning had the ball on his own 12-yard line, Giants trailing 17-15 with just 3:46 left in the game.
2007: On third and five Manning evaded what looked like a sack, threw up a Hail Mary, and miraculously hit David Tyree, who pinned the football up against his helmet for a 32-yard completion and a first down. The catch laid the groundwork for the winning touchdown.
2011: On the first play from scrimmage, Manning found Mario Manningham near the sideline and beating double coverage, hooked up with him for a 38-yard gain, giving the Giants prime field position to set up a score.
2007: Manning hit Burress in the end zone for a TD with just 35 seconds left on the clock. Tom Brady and the Patriots failed to move the ball into field goal range as time ticked down and lost by three points, 17-14.
2011: Ahmad Bradshaw hesitantly ran the ball into the end zone for a TD, leaving Brady and the Pats with only 57 seconds to score a touchdown. And once again, Brady and his receivers failed to move the ball down the field, losing by four points, 21-17.
2007: Manning wins the Super Bowl XLII Most Valuable Player award. He went to Disney World and the Canyon of Heroes – in that order.
2011: Take a guess who won Super Bowl XLVI MVP….Yes. It was Manning again. Today Manning was once again at Mickey Mouse’s home – and tomorrow he’ll be with his teammates in the Canyon of Heroes.
This year truly was, as Yogi Berra would say, déjà vu. Or déjà blue, depending on which way you want to phrase it. New York once again triumphs over New England, and gets the opportunity to celebrate a huge win.
Jubilation in New York. And for the fans in Boston; New England: more heartache.
Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe had it right today when he wrote,
“History Repeats:
Instead of celebrating a grand slam–championships in every major sport over a period of four years and four months–New Englanders are spitting out pieces of their broken luck, bracing for the avalanche of grief from those annoying New Yorkers.”
Yeah, pretty much spot on.
Every fan of the Patriots must be saying “Mario (bleeping) Manningham” right now, the same way four years ago they were undoubtedly saying “David (bleeping) Tyree” – and just like most Red Sox fans in the past have exclaimed, “Bucky (bleeping) Dent” and “Aaron (bleeping) Boone.”
A win like yesterday is the type of victory that can carry New York bragging rights over New England for a long way.
I know as a fan of the Giants, and as a fan who doubted they would go anywhere this season, I was enthralled; fascinated. The familiar feeling of sports joy overcame me. One of my favorite teams won a title and I was so happy I got down on one knee and…I’m not calling it “Tebowing.” In the spirit of the win, I prefer to call it “Manning’ing.”
That’s what I did.
Tom Coughlin, the Giants’ Head Coach, seemed just as happy as I was, seeing as how he was on the hot seat when the Giants scuffled. Coughlin became the oldest Head Coach in the NFL to win a Super Bowl at 65 years. He is also only the second coach to lead the Giants to a Super Bowl win. Bill Parcells was at the helm of the squad for the Giants’ first two Super Bowl victories in 1986 and 1990.
As for Manning…well…
At the outset of the season he called himself an elite quarterback; a top five-caliber manager who deserves to be put on the same level as Brady. The media jumped all over that statement and put Manning under the microscope. When he struggled, they doubted his words.
But now that he has beaten Brady three times in his career – and twice on the worldwide stage – his bold words are now inarguable. Manning is an elite quarterback, and he is as every bit as good as Brady, if not better. He led his team in a total of eight game-winning drives in the fourth quarter this season (including the postseason).
If that isn’t considered clutch, what the heck is?
And now, if anyone tries to call out Manning; say he isn’t one of the best QBs in the league, their point will be invalid. The proof of his greatness lies in his stat columns and the number of Super Bowl rings on his fingers.
No more Manning-bashing.
The Giants became only the fifth team in NFL history to win four or more Super Bowls. The Pittsburgh Steelers own six titles, the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers both have five. The Green Bay Packers have four, and now, so does the so-called “Big Blue Wrecking Crew.”
That’s right. The Steelers have the most Super Bowl titles in history with six. Football certainly is a different game than baseball as far as the Championship goes, looking at the 27 World Series titles the Yankees have.
And speaking of the Yankees, Spring Training will be starting shortly. Pretty soon camp will start and before we know it camp will break, bringing the 2012 MLB season. Now that football season has come to a dramatic and happy ending, baseball is soon to begin.
And while we wait, we can enjoy yet another New York Championship.
Déjà Blue
Editor’s note: I know this blog is basically reserved for baseball highlights, personal Yankee-related stories, and analysis of the Yankees, but given the circumstances surrounding yesterday night’s game, I made an exception to write about my favorite football team, the New York Giants.
I spent Yesterday night in the same place I spent Game One of the 2011-12 NFL season on Sept. 11 – at my best friend’s house watching the New York Giants.
The Giants played the Washington Redskins in Week 1, and didn’t look very good coming out of the gate. Sometime during the first half of the game, Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning was under heavy pressure, he scrambled, and ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown.
I jumped out of my seat and yelled out in sarcasm,
“Rushing touchdown for Eli Manning! Hey, this might be a good year after all.”
After getting laughed at by my friends and hearing from certain people how “The Buffalo Bill” (yes, the Buffalo Bill, not the Buffalo Bills) were the “only New York team” (inside joke, being that the Giants and Jets play their home games in New Jersey) the Giants went on to lose 28-14 to the typically bad Redskins.
Yet, my skepticism didn’t start during their first game. I was incredibly skeptical before the season even started. The so-called “Big Blue Wrecking Crew” allowed a number of their players to walk away, losing them to free agency. I thought for sure it would be another season in which the Jets – the other New York team – would overshadow them on the back pages of the newspapers.
The Jets had been to the last two AFC title games and came dangerously close to winning them both times, nearly punching their ticket to the Super Bowl. Not to mention the Jets added former Giant hero Plaxico Burress, who caught the game-winning TD in Super Bowl XLII to beat the 18-0 New England Patriots.
We all remember that happy story, right? I thought so.
Knowing the Giants were playing the Jets on Christmas Eve when the NFL schedule broke, I called and text messaged some of my friends who are Jets fans saying, “Congrats on the win on Christmas Eve. The Giants are going to have a horrible year.”
My faith in the team was just nonexistent.
However, it picked up a little bit as the season progressed, and the G-Men got on a little bit of a roll. They sort of came together, going 6-2 after eight weeks. The Giants began playing smash-mouth football, and most importantly they got healthy.
A number of their key players on the defensive end and their secondary were hurt, rendering them vulnerable to teams that weren’t necessarily stronger, but dictated games a lot better.
Case in point: their game vs. the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 9.
The Giants were certainly playing like the better team, but a few miscues on defense and a big mistake on offense – a fourth quarter interception by Manning – cost Big Blue the game.
Still, they were able to hang with teams, stay in the playoff race, and they obviously got healthy and red-hot at the right time. And it all started with, believe it or not, their game against the Jets.
Manning began a 29-14 rout of the Green Team with a 99-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Victor Cruz, who seemingly came out of nowhere to become one of the Giants’ top offensive weapons – and one of the league’s top receivers. The 99-yarder tied an NFL record, and his 89 yards after the catch is the most by a receiver on a 99-yard TD.
Not bad for a player who went undrafted.
Needless to say I was extremely happy the Giants beat the Jets and I learned a valuable lesson from that game: never lose faith in your team. Always have faith and always believe in them, even when it’s hard to and it looks as though defeat is imminent.
For a fan who congratulated fans of the other team months before the game even took place, and to have my team win – and win by a lot – was certainly humbling, to say the very least.
From there the G-Men just got on a win streak: a 31-14 victory over the Dallas Cowboys to get into the playoff dance, a 24-2 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Wild Card weekend, a 37-20 spanking of the heavily favored, 15-1 Green Bay Packers, and finally a 20-17 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers.
And now we’re back to where we were in 2008: Giants vs. Patriots in the Super Bowl.
As Yogi Berra would say, “It’s déjà vu, all over again!”
There are so many eerie similarities between this season and the 2007-08 campaign in which the Giants defeated the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Let me count the ways…
2007: The Giants lost their first two games, but eventually caught fire and held a 6-2 record after eight games.
2011: The Giants lost their first game and became a bit streaky, yet held a 6-2 record after eight games.
2007: Up against tough odds, the G-Men played an undefeated 15-0 Patriots team on the last day of the regular season. Big Blue hung step-for-step with the Pats, but wound up losing 38-35.
2011: Again, up against unfavorable odds, the Giants played the defending champion Packers, who were 12-0 heading into their game vs. New York in Week 13. The G-Men kept themselves in it, and looked to be clicking on all cylinders. However, some sloppy defense at the tail end of the game led to a loss, 38-35.
2007: On the road, the Giants won 10 straight games – and if you include the Super Bowl, 11 wins in a row away from the Meadowlands.
2011: The Giants are currently on a four-game win streak on the road – and they will be the away team in the upcoming Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 5.
2007: In the NFC Championship Game on the “Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field,” the Giants and Packers played to a 20-20 tie in subzero temperatures. In overtime, a key turnover by Brett Favre (an interception, which was picked off by cornerback Corey Webster) set up a field goal for the Giants. Kicker Lawrence Tynes, from 47 yards out, booted Big Blue into the Super Bowl.
2011: In the NFC Championship Game at a wet and soggy Candlestick Park in San Francisco, the Giants and 49ers played to a 17-17 tie after regulation, forcing the title game into overtime. Niners’ punt return specialist Kyle Williams was stripped of the ball by New York linebacker Jacquian Williams. The fumble was recovered by Giants’ wide receiver/specialist Devin Thomas, a costly turnover. The play set up a 31-yard field goal – which was made by Tynes to send New York to the Super Bowl.
2007: The Patriots beat the San Diego Chargers in the AFC title game, only to lose to the Giants in the Super Bowl.
2011: The Patriots beat the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC title game, and will once again play the Giants in the Super Bowl.
It’s pretty incredible how many parallels can be drawn between this year and the magical championship run the Giants put together a few years ago. I never thought when I was sarcastically saying “this could be a good year after all” and when I was giving the Jets the win over the Giants months before the game that the G-Men would be where they are now.
After the big win over the 49ers, Giants’ safety Antrel Rolle said, “No one gave us a shot.”
Yes sir. I will admit I was guilty of that, even as a loyal fan.
Yet Rolle even admitted that at times throughout the season, the team didn’t even give themselves a shot – so maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on myself as far as my wavering faith in the G-Men.
I went into this NFL season as a fan with the lowest of expectations. The Giants just by making the postseason proved me wrong. And now as NFC Champs, going to their fifth Super Bowl in franchise history, have gone above and beyond anything I ever expected out of them this year.
There might not be as much pressure on the Giants, being that New England isn’t playing for an undefeated season this time around. The Giants had to win Super Bowl XLII, otherwise they would always be remembered as “that fluke Super Bowl team who the Patriots beat to go 19-0.”
Instead they became “that pesky, resilient team who stopped the Patriots from going 19-0, and embarrassed them in front of the world.”
As far as the rematch goes, I don’t know what to anticipate; I have no idea what to expect. But if history has shown us anything, things look good for the New York Football Giants. It’s bound to be another good game; one the world will undoubtedly be watching.
Think of Yankees vs. Red Sox in Game 7 of the ALCS – that’s the type of feel this game is bound to possess.
No matter what happens in Super Bowl XLVI, I am proud of the Giants. They turned a season in which I expected nothing into a season that could very well be something special.
A.J. Martelli
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