WSOP champion cashed out

The worldwide leader in sports, as ESPN is aptly named, now has a poker page to go along with its NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAAF and NCAAB pages; all pages that are extremely popular. But how many people actually visit the ESPN Poker webpage?

It's difficult to understand the attraction in watching the World Series of Poker on ESPN. It airs for countless hours, until the champion is crowned. Last night the final two left from the thousands of entrants battled it out for the $8.72 million first-place prize, and the coveted WSOP bracelet. Pius Heinz, a 22-year-old from Germany, took home the prize money. Second and third-place finishers didn't have it so bad either; second-place finisher Martin Staszko walked away with $5.43 million, and Ben Lamb, who came in third-place, got $4 million. Not a bad payout for third-best.

The increasing popularity of no-limit Teas Hold-Em attracts poker players from all over the world to come and participate in the most popular poker tournament on earth. More than 6,865 entered the tournament that started in July. With a $10,000 buy-in, the WSOP attracts all skill levels of poker players, from professional to amateur, to online players. The main event, as the final table is referred, holds some viewer attention, but it's just hard to buy-in to watching the nearly five-month long tournament unfold on ESPN.

Bye, bye Jo Pa?

The New York Times reported earlier today that legendary Penn State head coach Joe Paterno could be on his way out after his 46th year at the helm of the football program. With the allegations coming against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, how much Jo Pa knew and actually did, still remains in question.

According to the report, school trustees had a phone meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night and are planning an early morning meeting Wednesday to allegedly discuss an exit plan for the Nittany Lions legend. The student rally in front of Paterno's house on Tuesday night left a sour taste in the mouth's of those taking in the details of the story, feeling the students are apathetic towards the victims. Even Jo Pa himself seemed more concerned with this weekend's game against Nebraska than the sex scandal that is shaking his legacy at the Big Ten institution.

Here is Matt Millen's reaction to the events that have transpired:

Powerful stuff from a man that is clearly torn by this saga. Only time will tell the whole story. It's just sad it has taken this long to bring these inhuman allegations to light.

Florida State week begins

One of the best rivalries in college football renews itself this weekend. The Miami Hurricanes travel to Tallahassee to take on their bitter rival, the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 3:30 p.m.

The rivalry originated in 1951 with the 'Canes taking the first five match-ups. The 'U' leads the all-time series 31-24, with a lot of the games having national implications. The games in 1991, '92, '00, '02 and '03 are simply referred to as Wide Right I-III, Wide Left and Wide Right IV. The game has also consistently drawn the most viewers of any college football game several times, with the 2006 game being the most watched college football game on ESPN ever.

This year's game doesn't hold the same luster as past contests, but no matter what the circumstances Miami-Florida State is always a heated rivalry.

Homecoming at the 'U'

Homecoming festivities from November 4-6 were a great success at the University of Miami. Alumni of all ages came back to celebrate with current 'Canes. Here's the story from The Miami Hurricane: http://bit.ly/t0QpLL.

Not so Happy Valley

There is an unbelievable story unfolding at Penn State. Here are the details: http://bit.ly/vlgc1r. The worst part about it is that they knew since 2002 and did nothing to ban him from the school or report him to the proper authorities.

It will be interesting to see what comes of the larger-than-life figure, Joe Paterno, head football coach at Penn State who Sandusky played for and worked under for more than 30 years until his retirement in 1999. Paterno would never want to go out like this.

What is to come is anyone's guess. It was reported earlier today that Sandusky lives a mere 1,000 feet from an elementary school and used the Penn State workout facilities just days before the story broke. This is certainly a large scandal and will take several months and even years to fully sort through.

Final story

The final news story for broadcast journalism will be a difficult one. Many ideas are out there, but the right one has not been discovered yet. The one story that seems very interesting surrounds Northwestern High School and the dominance they have had over South Florida high school football.

South Florida is the mecca of the high school football world. More Division I recruits come out of this region every year than in any other in the United States, and more teams from the state of Florida are ranked in the national top 25 than any other state. On top of all that, Northwestern High School has been the powerhouse for years. In 2007 they won the high school football national championship, sending recruits such as quarterback Jacory Harris, linebacker Sean Spence and wide receiver Tommy Streeter on to successful college careers at the University of Miami.

While other local high schools such as St. Thomas Aquinas and Miami Central have garnered similar national success the past few seasons, no school has quite the same prolonged success and tradition that Northwestern holds.

The story is about this tradition and the pressures of the current football players at the Liberty City school. They have so much to live up to and must also overcome the peer pressure, the struggle to graduate and the dangers of the streets to succeed. The story will include teachers, mentors and coaches who guide these young men and mold them.

Here is a short video on a documentary done on the program:

UMTV's NewsVision 11/1

Debut in the executive producer position of UMTV's NewsVision. Every week the graduate students rotate positions on staff for Tuesday's version. It was a strong show... bit.ly/s293Mv