The Beast

QUOTE (Felix @ Aug 5, 2010 -> 11:34 AM) I just graduated as a sports management major with a communications minor with the ultimate career goal of Vice President of Communications (obviously some 15-20 years down the line). Two of the three unpaid internships I did were in media relations departments, while the third was in promotions for a team known for their promotions. The full-time position I got for the upcoming season is also in media relations. It's a seasonal internship, but if you want to get a permanent position with a team, they generally require you have at least two to three years of media relations experience, so a seasonal internship is usually necessary. The pay sucks, but if you're looking to get rich quick, starting a career in sports isn't going to do that for you. Not that I have a world of experience as I've just graduated college (and this might be obvious), but I'd advise against being closed-minded in where you're going to work (e.g. wanting to work for the White Sox). There are a finite number of positions with any given team, and the chances of anyone getting them are slim to none, especially if you're just trying to get off the ground and have no experience in the field. Instead, I'm a firm believer that you should be willing to move anywhere to gain experience toward your ultimate goal, regardless of how you feel about the team/area you'd be. If that means working in Idaho or Alaska, so be it, as long as it's working toward your eventual career goal. I don't know what my ultimate goal is in terms of my job title. One problem that I believe might hurt me is that I'm not graduating from a top school and instead a small, liberal arts institution that isn't well known. Also, I'm not even sure if I'm cutthroat enough to go work in a competitive field like sports - sports journalism and broadcasting were too competitive and I'm sure the corporate world of sports is also extremely difficult to get into. Part of me really wants to get out of college and start finding what it is that I really like to do, even if that means grad school or working several different jobs. It was really difficult to get a summer internship this summer as I applied to seven different places and only got one interview. Maybe they screened me and figured out that I'm not groomed for the marketing position they were looking for, which is why I'm glad I didn't declare a Marketing major). I'm not too worried about money, but I definitely don't want to have to live with my parents much longer after graduation - I would like to move out by the time I'm 24 or 25, depending upon graduate school and what I'm doing then. The problem with me is that I don't really care about sports other than football or baseball, and I can't stand being out in the middle of nowhere. I'd rather be married to a person that I love instead of marrying my job, too. In the next five years all I'm wanting is my college degree, to see if I can work in sports or not, if I should go to graduate school for education, sports management or doing things behind the scenes in media such as video or audio editing, as well as to continue making friends and maybe get back into a serious relationship again as being single gets really old. My goal right now is to complete school in three semesters and to come back to the Chicagoland area, the place that I love the most in the world.

QUOTE (Felix @ Aug 4, 2010 -> 09:40 PM) There are plenty of other ways to get into the business, it's just that sales is the easiest way since there's so much turnover on the staffs. I'm trying to get into sports as well, but I'm not going the sales path. You certainly need to have connections and go through the b**** work for a few years, but it's not that uncommon. I did unpaid internships for three teams (essentially 2 years worth) before finally recently getting a full-time paid internship with a team for the upcoming season. What's your path, educational background, internships and what are you trying to do? QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Aug 5, 2010 -> 07:27 AM) Communications (like Reifert): Undergrad in English, Journalism or communications + working for school in sports + getting very lucky to get one of few media relations positions + be willing to make very little for some time It's so tough because I think more people fit in the communications category than any other, there's not a lot of people who are business savvy or law school bound. I'm taking a different path by doing business and sports communications but if I was to do anything it would have to be a communications position. And if I'm not lucky enough to get somewhere in the media relations department, then at least I have business skills to go corporate. (Spare me!) Internships are helpful, although the White Sox don't hire interns until they have a bachelor's degree under their belt. Interestingly enough, I've heard that if you are in video, web or sound editing, you could find yourself as a hot commodity for one of the sports media positions, especially since everyone wants to be on the camera and very few want to work behind the scenes. I think if it was between paying dues for years outside of large markets or working almost directly in a large market behind the scenes, I'd say the large market with a lot of opportunity.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Aug 3, 2010 -> 04:17 PM) I had a friend who did this with the Tampa Bay Rays. Try selling season tickets for them, back in 2005-06. Did he ever advance at all? What does he do now?

QUOTE (SnB @ Aug 3, 2010 -> 03:17 PM) Most sports careers start with selling season tickets.... Which is what Boyer told me when I spoke to him in regards to working for the Sox. It's too bad that I probably wouldn't last long in sales, I like people but I'm not that extroverted of a person.

QUOTE (hi8is @ Aug 3, 2010 -> 12:24 PM) Hey gang... Lately I've been thinking a lot about working for the white sox in their front office. Do any of you have any suggestions as to how I could approch this? Any idea how one gets hired in such a capacity? My background is in marketing communications, Internet development, management, and customer service. I also have a desire to work in sports, primarily with the White Sox or Bears. I'm still trying to discover where exactly I fit, but I know that it is nigh impossible to get a job at the Chicago Tribune (newspaper publishers are laying off like crazy) and I really didn't enjoy reporting when I was working for a paper, so it wasn't a good fit. Being in my school's sports information department, I've been able to do some writing on my own schedule to gain some work experience, while getting an education in Business. I've heard that it is actually easier to go to the ICB and try and get an internship with a sports radio station to get experience than go to college for broadcasting, but I could be wrong. That's the route that Abbatacola and McCaffrey took after college at their institutions (Moody Bible and Missouri), and it has worked out for them. If you don't want to get into programming and are going through this without getting further education, I can only tell you other people's backgrounds. Apparently Scott Reifert obtained a journalism degree at Iowa before getting his Master's in sports management at WIU, and waited three years before he got the job with the White Sox. Boyer went to Notre Dame and I believe worked in sales for the Bulls for several years before going through DePaul's MBA (Sports Management) program to work for the Sox. Maybe it all depends on what kind of position you want, but I know that if I want to work for the Sox, I'm going to probably have to get internships under my belt, whether it be with 670 the Score, AM-1000 or a minor league organization, along with getting a Master's degree in sports management from NIU, where you need an internship to graduate. In tough economic times where the large market media isn't hiring and jobs are competitive, it might take a miracle to get hired. Some of the people I've spoken to were there at the right place at the right time and got hired, but with work experience and the right connections, you could get lucky.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 3, 2010 -> 12:43 PM) Don't stop now booooyyys.....ok, even I am getting annoyed, Hawk. Does anyone else feel like Hawk is being a bit creepy when he's saying that?

QUOTE (Controlled Chaos @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 08:27 PM) Bren you're not alone. I believe in marriage. No need to try and convince those that aren't though. To each their own. I believe in marriage, I just found the discussion interesting since I know people have their own views on it. QUOTE (iamshack @ Aug 2, 2010 -> 08:49 PM) On another note....how important is immediate physical attraction in a relationship, on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being of the utmost importance. Important. You can't just sit back and get set up with someone who is not attractive to you. Sex and physical attraction are apart of the relationship and if you don't have that, then how can you possibly expect to keep something going? Friendship and love is not enough, though I'm sure conservatives would disagree.

I know, the question about marriage seems ridiculous but it is widely debated at another forum that I've read. I'm not actually buying into it being just a contract between two people. But with all of the divorce and marriages failing in the US, I do question the concept of marriage, even if I would like to get hitched one day.

Is marriage nothing more than a contract between two people? Oh, and f*** Tim Tebow. He can take his anti-abortion campaign and shove it up his A-S-S.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Jul 31, 2010 -> 11:59 AM) Isn't Jurassic a confirmed juicer? Also, I'm going to be cryptic, and I've IM'd a mod the name before, but there was at least one other juicer on the 05 team Who was the other guy?

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 30, 2010 -> 05:02 PM) Bernstein is such an arrogant jerk. "No! He's bad! He's bad now! Noooo! He's baaaaaadddd wahhhhhh!" Obviously the caller was an idiot (when calling about Carlos Lee) but I wanted to smack whoever was talking on the show at the time.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 30, 2010 -> 04:09 PM) Don't worry, Edwin Jackson will take care of them! (OPS against Jackson, Jeter .960, AROD 1.389, Swisher 1.346, Teixeira 1.000). I'm sure that Hudson would produce much better results against the Yankees.

Is it silly to assume that we keep Edwin Jackson and then trade something else to get a bat?

I don't have to hear about any fan professing his/her love for Hudson anymore - what a great trade! Well, hopefully KW has something up his sleeve. Otherwise this trade doesn't make much sense.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Jul 28, 2010 -> 07:23 PM) Dude, stop peeing in girls' mouths. This is why you haven't found "the one" yet. You're so funny. Way to try and bait me.

Think about a girl giving you oral sex. That might help.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Jul 27, 2010 -> 05:12 PM) You, my friend, need to stop analyzing things. Go get yourself a hooker or something. To hell with it, I hear so much of everyone's opinions day in and day out that it's so difficult to follow through with my desires. I am not just going to be a sitting duck, let life pass me by and not miss out on more than I already have. I've been meeting new people right and left, trying to enjoy myself, and I have been. But I also still would like to exercise my free will and do something instead of sit here listening to people to "sit and wait for things to come around." I don't over pursue or do anything to freak the women out. I'm direct with them, and if there's nothing there, then god damnit, I move on. Sure, I'll get a hooker. That's a great story to tell your kid or future significant other. "Honey, I have slept with a prostitute before. That's the kind of guy I was. I never got tested. Do you think you have herpes?" Screw that crap.

What are your guys' thoughts on "don't go looking for love/lust/a girlfriend, let it/her come find you."

Why would the White Sox re-sign Kotsay or Jones? They aren't anything too special. Is JR wanting to slash payroll again or is there further economic downturn that I'm not aware about that will hinder the Sox from being a competitive looking ballclub next year?

I love this old thread title: "Motherf***ing b****ass passionless White Sox."

I'm beginning to wonder how much worse the Sox would have been this year with Jermaine Dye as the DH or in RF and Quentin DHing. Similarly, I wonder what would have happened if Thome was the DH and not this DH by committee bulls*** that Ozzie spoonfed to Williams. I know, I'm hearing Rongey's voice in the back of my head saying, "There's a reason why 30 teams have passed over Dye," and I'm recalling the argument of, well Thome is a bad choice for a, b and c. But anyway, Kotsay sucks, there's a reason why they traded Anderson for him. Just wondering how the team would have been otherwise, especially if Podsednik was back instead of Pierre, who isn't the worst candidate for the job - at least they don't have 'W' Harris out there. EDIT: I would trade Quentin in a heartbeat.

QUOTE (J.Reedfan8 @ Jul 25, 2010 -> 05:01 PM) For some reason, it is always Oakland's stadium that gives us the most trouble out of all the W.C. teams. While it may be true that the Sox are bad in Oakland's stadium, I don't want to hear anyone b**** about the dimensions of it. Yeah some of those balls aren't actually in the playing field in other stadiums or in our house, but there's no excuse for the s***ty play that I've witnessed here, with the exception of Buehrle's win on Friday.

Way to suck on the west coast, White Sox.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 25, 2010 -> 10:16 AM) Yeah definitely get tickets in the lower deck. Center field deck is worth checking out as well as the Sox greats statues surrounding it. Is the center field deck for private parties only? I walked up there a few times and was told to go away. There must have been private parties both days or some work function up there.

For those of you with Comcast, there is a rebroadcast on Comcast On Demand (Ch. 999). Rick Morrissey was right - if you follow the team, there isn't much to this this show. Interesting material and I'm glad the Sox got picked for this!