1998 Brock Baseball Team

1998 Brock Badger men's baseball team photo. Front Row (L to R): Bill Gillen, Ryan Villers, Greg Arbour, Mark Cheeseman, Andrew Tinnish, Rick Bottomley, Matt Fletcher, Brad Namtzu, Darryl Presley, Dan Pino, Grant Giffen, Mike Caruso, Mark Reilly Back Row (L to R): Jeff Lounsbury (Head Coach), Jayar Green, Creston Rudolph, Ryan Fisher, Jamie Trull, Stefan Strecker, Andrew Robb, Jeremy Walker, Ryan Johns, Matt Stezycki, Steve Lester, Fabio Del Rio, Jarrod Haase, Jess Dixon, Rick Falconer (Pitching Coach) Absent: Marc Purdy, Ian Bala, Marc LePage (Asst. Coach), Waybe Briggs-Jude (Asst. Coach)

1999 Brock Baseball Team

Men's baseball team after winning the 1999 national championships.

Bonds away : baseball mythology and the 2007 home run chase

In 2007, Barry Bonds hit his 75 6th home run, breaking Hank Aaron's all-time record for most home runs in a Major League career. While it would be expected that such an accomplishment would induce unending praise and adulationfor the new record-holder, Bonds did not receive the treatment typically reserved for a beloved baseball hero. The purpose of this thesis is to assess media representations of the 2007 home run chase in order to shed light upon the factors which led to the mixed representations which accompanied BOlTds ' assault on Aaron's record. Drawingfrom Roland Barthes ' concept of myth, this thesis proposes that Bonds was portrayed in predominantly negative ways because he was seen as failing to embody the values of baseball's mythology. Using a qualitative content analysis of three major American newspapers, this thesis examines portrayals of Bonds and how he was shown both to represent and oppose elements from baseball's mythology, such as youth, and a distant, agrarian past. Recognizing the ways in which baseball is associated with American life, the media representations of Bonds are also evaluated to discern whether he was portrayed as personifYing a distinctly American set of values. The results indicate that, in media coverage of the 2007 home run chase, Bonds was depicted as a player of many contradictions. Most commonly, Bonds' athletic ability and career achievements were contrasted with unflattering descriptions of his character, including discussions of his alleged use of performance-enhancing substances. However, some coverage portrayed Bonds as embodying baseball myth. The findings contribute to an appreciation of the importance of historical context in examining media representations. This understanding is enhanced by an analysis of a selection of articles on Mark McGwire 's record-breaking season in 1998, and careful consideration of, and comparison to, the context under which Bonds performed in 2007. Findings are also shown to support the contemporary existence of a strong American baseball mythology. That Bonds is both condemned for failing to uphold the mythology and praised for personifYing it suggests that the values seen as inherent to baseball continue to act as an American cultural benchmark.

Andrew Tinnish

Andrew Tinnish reaches the home plate in the 1998 Blue/Red scrimmage. Tinnish was inducted into the Brock Baseball Hall of Fame.

Coaches' use of and impressions of computer-mediated communication (CMC) media /

The study examined coaches' usage of text-based computer-mediated communication (CMC) media (e.g., text-messaging, email) in the coach-player relationship. Data were collected by surveying Ontario-based male baseball coaches (n = 86) who coached players between 15 and 18 years old. Predictions were made regarding how demographic factors such as age and coaching experience affected coaches' CMC use and opinions. Results indicated that over 76% of respondents never used any CMC media other than email and team websites in their interactions with players. Results also revealed that coaches' usage rates contrasted with their opinion of the usefulness of the media, and their perception of players' use of the media. Coaches characterized most CMC media as limited, unnecessary, and sometimes inappropriate. Additional research should explore players' CMC usage rates and possible guidelines for use of the new media in authority relationships. Academia needs to keep pace with the developments in this area.

Merritton Pen Centre Lions photographs, 1960.

Two black and white photographs of the Merritton Pen Centre Lions, dated 1960. One photograph is of the team, and the other one is of the pitching staff. The photograph of the team includes Bill Colbey (Lions Club), Jack McFadden, Bob Sunderland, Gary Blank, John MacDonald, John Davis (Coach), John Dempsey, Art Barclay, Frank Krsul, Percy Gilligan (Pen Centre), Terry Saxton, George Krusl, Dave Morris, Ian MacDonald (Mgr), Pete Holowchuk, Bernie Stubbert, Bill Hicks, Jim Thomson (Bat Boy), George Depitris (Property) and Charlie McGuire. Jim Hale is absent. The photograph of the pitching staff includes John Dempsey, Art Barclay and John MacDonald.